Our Love Will Survive
by Plains-Of-White
Summary: Sold into an underground fighting arena for the entertainment of the wealthy, Rey has lived most of her life in suffering of what she was forced to do. Until one day she loses her title of undefeated champion to a strange man named Kylo Ren, whose choice for her fate was not what she expected. Au Rated M for Violence and Gore.
1. Slaves

When Rey was… she didn't know how many years old, her parents sold her off to a black market buyer for less than twenty credits. Her buyer, and new master, was named Unklar Plutt. He was a brutal, grimy, fat old man who owned an underground fighting arena set up for the sadistic and wealthy. Since she was still very young when she was sold to him, he only had her clean up the blood and sweat and other bodily fluids from the arena after every match. As she grew older she was required to do more back breaking and strenuous labor such as putting coals in the furnace, feeding the fighting dogs, and hauling heavy boxes and sacks around the underground network. Rey was never given a break nor allowed to take a day off due to illness of any kind. She was forced to adapt and become strong and hardened in order to survive.

When Rey turned eleven, Unklar Plutt pushed her into the pit for the first time, facing off against a man three times her size and twice her age. She was beaten horribly and suffered a terrible defeat. When the time came for the winner to decide her fate, as was protocol, the man was merciful with her and spared her life, since the most common practice in the ring was to sentence the loser to death.

Unklar Plutt, however, was not as generous and took his time torturing her for the disgrace she had brought to his 'good' name. Rey had not been able to move for two days after that, and her next time in the pit the following week, she completely decimated her opponent owned by a man named Jabba the Hutt. Though, just as her former competitor had done for her, she let the woman go. Unklar Plutt had not taken kindly to that, torturing her once again until she was paralyzed by the pain.

Rey later learned that the woman she had spared was tortured to death for her loss. Rey then sentenced all of her competitor to a mercy shot by blaster, so they would not suffer they way the woman had. It pained Rey to do this, to be the cause of others' deaths, but it was the only was she could think of to end their suffering without causing them suffering.

Adapting once again to her new way of life, Rey had become undefeated in the pit in order to initially avoid her master's wrath. Now she knows that if she were ever to lose, her opponent would undoubtedly waste no time killing her in probably the worst of ways for holding onto the top spot for as long as she has. The crowd of the rich loved her, and even sometimes loved seeing her completely destroy their own fighters. Yet she never took any joy in the blood that stained her hands.

Rey would lie awake at night in her cell, on the pile of hay that she used as a bed, staring at her hands in agony, desperately wishing for the sweet release of sleep… or death. Rey almost didn't care if she lost and was killed, but at the same time she was desperate to stay alive.

For her family, who she believed would one day realize their mistake and come back for her, take her away from this hell and give her the warm home that she always wanted.

However Rey continued to grow older, and her parents never came back, but she still held onto hope, for it was all that she had. Now she was nineteen years old, as Unklar Plutt claimed since she didn't remember her own birthday, and she was still trapped in the underground fighting arena.

Her day began at dawn, she'd wake up and immediately start on her chores, since she only had one outfit she didn't bother to change. She would heat up the furnaces to spread heat around the building to those who were lodging in to enter fighters of their own in the arena. After that she had to bring food to the fight dogs in their cages. Rey had only made the mistake of releasing them only once, for Unklar Plutt became furious when he discovered all of his dogs were running amuck and attacking his clients, and she paid for her mistake. The dogs had become the only friends she had, for they all had suffered as she had, and they came to trust her over time. When she was done with the dogs, Rey did the laundry of the occupants and swept the grounds. Then she would return to the furnaces to feed them more coal, then back to the laundry room to hang up the clothes. She went back and forth all day doing different chores, pausing at midday to eat her lunch, comprised of jerky, bread, and water. On a good day Rey might get a slice of cheese or jam with her meal. Today was not one of those days.

Rey gave her stomach time to settle before she made her way to the workout room where the fighters warmed up before each fight. Rey didn't have to fight today, but she would tomorrow, so she went to scope out the competitors. That and she had to mop the floor, couldn't let anyone get ringworm.

The fighters were the usual candidates, tall, buff men who all relied on their big muscles to win. Rey was different, she had learned to read her opponent's moves and style to turn their technique and strength against them in order to make up for her small stature and thin build. Although Rey's strength was nothing to snot at, she had gained plenty of muscle from her many years of labor, but her poor diet kept her constantly thin.

Yet there was one man who stood out against the rest, a pale man with thick black hair who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Compared to all the rest, including her, he looked well kept and fed. He held himself with an air not that of a fighter, but a commander, Rey couldn't help but wonder if he was a senior, or a newcomer. By the way he moved when he trained Rey doubted the possibility of the latter, this man has definitely been a fighter for as long, if not longer, than her. It was only when said man turned and caught her eye that she realized that she had been staring. Rey went a little red from embarrassment, but did not let it show, she could not afford to appear weak to someone she could potentially end up fighting.

Rey walked in passed the doorway and brought her bucket and mop over to the faucet over by the open showers, which she refused to use publicly, and began to fill it up with water and a hint of soap. Once it was half full she brought it over to the first place she would start to clean, away from the others as to not disturb them, and also to stay away from that man.

However, as she continued to mop the entirety of the floor, she could feel the man's gaze on her body for the rest of the time she was in there. Rey willed herself not to look at him, not wanting to socialize with someone whose death she may inevitably cause.

Once she was done there, Rey delivered all of the tenants their clothes back, filled the furnace its coal once more, then went to deliver produce to the kitchens. This was her favorite part of the day, because despite the hundreds of pounds she was forced to carry around, it was the only time she was allowed outside. Rey never bothered to run away though, the tracker on her right ankle and guard at the door prevented her from ever doing so. Today they had flour, eggs, and real beef being delivered, luxuries she was never privileged enough to eat. Rey took the eggs and meat down first and delivered them to the chef, then went back for the two sacks of flour that weighed nearly a hundred and sixty pounds together. Piling one over her shoulder, and the other under her opposite arm, Rey made her way back down to the underground to deliver them. Rey looked at the outside world as the door closed, as it would be the last time she saw the sunlight until the next delivery, four days from now. Her arms burned as usual from the strain of carrying the flour and begged her to get to the kitchen fast. So with one last glance at the blue sky, Rey headed back into her hell palace.

As Rey headed down the network of tunnels back to the kitchen, the tall form of a man stepped out from a door and stepped out right into her, knocking a four sack out of her arm.

"Shit." Rey cursed and bent over to pick it back up. The man who knocked it out of her grasp didn't bother to help her or even apologize. 'Asshole.' Rey thought in her head.

"You're quite small to be carrying those heavy bags, servant girl." The man finally spoke as she swung the sack back over her shoulder.

' _Servant girl?_ ' Rey repeated indignantly in her head. Obviously this man didn't know who she was, or else he wouldn't have called her that. Rey raised her head to call him out on it, but was caught dumbfounded when the face of the man from the training room was the face she looked up at. He looked at her expectantly, as if he was waiting for her comeback, waiting for her to just _talk_ to him. But Rey would not provide him with such satisfaction, she would not be riled up by another fighter. So she side stepped past him and carried on down the hall, but was stopped when he called out to her again.

"Servant girl." He yelled, stopping her in her tracks, but not turning her around. "Will I see you in the arena?" He asked, almost hopeful in a strange way.

"Perhaps." She replied and carried on, wanting to dump these heavy bags as soon as possible.

Soon after the matches began and Rey sat up with Unklar Plutt at his right hand as his champion and prized possession. Rey usually watched the fights from up here the day before she fought to scoop out the competition, learn their techniques, strengths, and weaknesses. It was one reason she was able to win every match, even if by just barely, she had time to study her opponent. Match after match she watched as one man died, and another moved up to the next fight and be scheduled again for tomorrow. One man took a finger from every man he beat to add to his apparent collection. There were always fighters like this with sick and twisted tendencies during and, or, after their fights, Rey almost loved knocking them off their pedestal.

The last match was that of the well kept man she ran into in the hall after seeing him earlier in the day. Rey watched closely as the fight began, the man was facing off against a shorter and less broad man who also appeared to be younger. It was obvious who was going to win in her opinion, the black haired man obviously had more experience and strength than the other. Would he toy with him or end it swiftly? Rey watched to see. However, nothing she expected or had seen before could match the speed and ferocity of the man's attack, taking down his opponent in one swift strike. The entire crowd roared in excitement at the amazing spectacle. The winner was announced: Kylo Ren.

The man, Kylo, now decided the other's fate, death by sword. Kylo Ren was given a medieval long sword with a fiery red cross guard. He raised it over the other man's neck, and brought it down. Rey looked away. The crowd cheered.

"Go clean up, girl." Unklar Plutt commanded her once the fight ended. Rey obeyed her master and got up from her seat and walked to the stairs that lead down to the pit. Opening the door, Rey walked into the arena up to the dead body and picked up the decapitated head in one hand and proceeded to drag the corpse out of the arena back to the entrance, leaving a trail of blood in her wake. All the while she never spared Kylo Ren a single glance, disgusted by the monster she discovered he was. When she came back with the mop and bucket, she was glad that he had already left.

Once she was done cleaning it was night time, she guessed since all of the tenants were turning into their rooms to sleep. Rey went to the kitchen to retrieve her second meal of the day, her dinner, made up of the same dry jerky, stale bread, and murky water as usual. Rey devoured her meal, her stomach pained and desperate for food as it was everyday. Before she knew it she had finished her meal and was still hungry. She sighed and got up from her seat, not dumb enough to try and steal food as she had before. She took what she got and was grateful for every tasteless bite.

Having to feed the furnace one last time before she could sleep, Rey turned to make her way for the door, but froze when she saw the form of Kylo Ren, dressed in black robes, staring at her from the entrance. When their eyes met he pulled something out from his pocket and tossed it to her. An apple. Rey glared at him suspiciously, not trust him to eat the fruit right away.

"Figured a slave like you only got fed scraps." He said to her as an explanation.

"And you're any better?" She questioned pointedly, taking a bite of the green apple, letting her hunger win over her pride. She wouldn't mind if it was poisoned anyway. "A pampered slave is still a slave."

"I'm not a slave." He stated.

"We all are."

Kylo did not reply any further and simply walked away from the kitchen, heading back to his designated room. Since he didn't head back to the cells where the fighters were usually kept, Rey guessed that whoever his master was, they truly did pamper him.

Heading out again Rey went straight to the cell she called a room and collapsed on her pile of hay, exhausted as usual. Though her tiredness was great, Rey could not find it in her to sleep as she listened to the pained groans of those around her. Rey covered her ears and willed herself to block them out, but they penetrated her ears easily and created a choir of haunting moans. And, just as they did every night, memories began to flood back to her. Memories of all the wounds she inflicted on innocent newcomers or those who did not want this life. She thought of the deaths of each and every one of her opponents. Rey tried to tell herself that she had saved them from a life of suffering, but she could practically _feel_ the blood on her hands

Tears began to fall from her eyes as she let out quiet sobs, woeful of the life she was living. She thought of her parents who she did not remember and imagined the life they could have had together if they had kept her. Being raised in an actual home with hot food served three times a day. Having a mother to tuck her in at night, and a father to push away her fears before she went to bed.

Then she thought of how they sold her into this life, and how, after all these years, they never once returned for her. But Rey would not allow anger and hatred to settle into her heart yet, for the hope of them eventually coming back was all she had.

Desperate to be released from her awakened thoughts Rey held her breath, not taking in a single breath of air until she passed out cold. This was how she got to sleep on most nights.

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Hello everyone! This is my first Reylo fic so please no harsh comments. Plus I wrote this on zero hours of sleep. Rated M for gore. Please enjoy!

Para mi amiga, Mariah.

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	2. Fate

When Rey woke up the next morning, the air was drafty and created a quivering chill that jolted her awake. She then realized that she had forgotten to fuel the furnace with an extra batch of coal before she went to sleep last night. Bolting up from her stack of hay, Rey bolted out of the door-less room- Rey's cell was the only one without a barred door since she had been trusted never to leave -and sprinted as fast as she could to the furnace room before anyone else, especially Unklar Plutt, noticed her mistake. The fire was long since dead and filled with nothing but soot and useless stone. Rey opened up the coal box and shoveled a good amount of coal and shoved it in the furnace, doused it with lighter fluid, lit a match and threw it in, fanning it to speed up the process. With her work done, Rey gingerly walked out of the room and went on to her other chores, hoping that no one noticed.

Well someone totally did, in fact there had been numerous complaints about waking from the cold last night and being chilly while dressing in the morning. Unklar Plutt had not been pleased from the discomfort of his clientele, and he had made sure Rey knew that when he found her sweeping the dining hall before lunch.

"You stupid girl! I offer you a home, food, and a job and this is how you repay me? By humiliating me in front of my guests!" He roared furiously at her.

He didn't beat her too bad, she had a tournament to win, he knew that, so he simply pushed her down and kicked her in the stomach three times. This was a very merciful beating, if she didn't have to fight she knows he would have gotten either an iron bar or whip to teach her a lesson like he always does. Just another reason why Rey never complained or disobeyed.

The doors opened as guests flooded in for lunch time, spreading out to the the buffet that the cook had set out. Rey tried to stand up but was pushed back down again.

"Get back to work." Unklar Plutt commanded her in a gruff tone. "And no lunch for you today."

Rey bowed slightly to him as he walked away before standing up again. Walking over to the broom that had been knocked out of her grasps and bent over to pick it up. The sound of noisy chatter filled her ears as the guests all began to socialize together. Rey looked over at them with their fancy clothes, expensive jewelry, and imploded stomachs. She loathed these people and their sick, twisted idea of entertainment and amusement. Kidnapping, buying, and selling people into the ring to watch them kill each other. If she could have her way, she'd watch this entire place burn along with them.

Rey caught her thoughts and shook them away. No. She can't think like that, what would he parents think of her? If she were to enjoy watching these people die at her hands, then she'd be no better than them.

The young slave fighter continued to sweep the floors, wanting, _needing_ , to escape her own thoughts. Rey nearly finished when she felt a creeping chill run up her spine. She felt someone watching her. Turning around she two figures at the door, arriving later than the others. One of the figures was that of Kylo Ren, wearing nice, but not as grand as the man's besides him, clothing. Black pants and robe with a scarf around his neck. The man beside him was much older and slightly deformed in the face, with a deep scar on his forehead, dressed in beautifully golden robes. He must be the master of Kylo Ren, who claims not to be a slave.

"Ah, Snoke Supreme! I'm glad you could make." Unklar greeted the old man graciously, much respect in his voice. Rey guessed that this man was probably important in some way.

"Yes well I was on the way back to my home ring of Supremacy, figured I'd stop by and remind everyone who the real ring master is." Snoke said in a haughty voice, a lopsided grin on his face. "Have you met my right hand fighter, Kylo Ren?" He asked as gestured for Kylo to step forwards. Kylo did so and gave a low bow to Unklar Plutt, but not speak to him.

"I've heard stories. Is it true that he's on a twelve year streak?" Her master asked.

"Indeed." The other master nodded. "And I'm looking to add on another win to the scoreboard for his 289th win."

"Well," Unklar Plutt laughed, "Don't be disappointed when my champion steals another victory. She's up to her 216th consecutive win."

"I'd love to meet her." Snoke said with a grin that seemed to hide a secret motive.

"Rey!" Unklar Plutt called for her across the room. Rey immediately put down her broom to answer her master's call, running over to him. "This is my girl Rey, had her ever since she was young." Rey bowed to Snoke politely, but like Kylo had done to her master, she didn't speak to him nor look him directly in the eyes.

"Hmm, quite thin isn't she? Fighters perform better if their well fed." Snoke tipped off to Unklar, almost lecturing him.

"I've found that when a fighter is hungry, the prospect of being fed afterwards gives them the adrenaline they need to overcome an opponent." Unklar Plutt challenged the other master. Rey could feel the eyes of Kylo Ren, which had already been focused on her, bare into her with increasing intensity. She willed herself not to look up from the floor and wished that he would look away.

"Adrenaline and motivation are second to strength and skill. If a fighter is hungry they'll succumb to exhaustion quicker than others." Snoke disagreed.

"Well, we'll just have to see tonight in the ring. Come on girl." Unklar Plutt commanded walking away. Rey walked off with her master, but for some reason couldn't help looking back over her shoulder, catching Kylo's eyes as she did so. Rey turned and followed her master out of the dining room, listening him rant on and on about the other master's so called nerve.

He sent off on her own to continue working, and that's what she did for the next few hours, cleaned, fed the furnace, fulfill guests needs, keeping herself busy until her inevitable fight. Fight nights would go one about once every two weeks, but that stilled didn't seem like a long enough time in between for her. Rey dreaded her fights every time they came around. She hated having to fight to live, and kill those who failed to survive, but it was the only way for _her_ to survive. She hated it, but it was the truth.

The hour of the fights began to draw nigh, the fighters went to the training room to practice, and she went with them. The room had six people occupying it, now including her. Most of them were owned by someone else, and one man, although very rare, had no owner. Some fighters chose to take this route and risk their lives for the cash reward, but this didn't happen too often because they were most likely to die than win. One man among them was also owned by Unklar Plutt, Ivano Troade, drugged at a bar before being sold here. He was the one who trained Rey in her early years and still gave her pointers now and then. The two of them had been forced to fight each other on multiple occasions, but they did not sentence each other to any sort of punishment, for they knew their master would be angry if his "possessions" were damaged. Ivano was a senior in the ring and manage to scrape along victories for as long as she's known him. Rey could only hope she'd face him once again in the ring tonight so she wouldn't have to kill.

Walking over to a secluded corner where she and Ivano always warmed up together when their fight nights correlated with each other's, they first started by stretching out their limbs and warming up their muscles. Not many words were exchanged before a fight, it was a dark time for both of them, death was always a possible factor.

She never knew her father, but she'd like to think he'd be something like Ivano.

Rey did her toe touches, squats, and was now working on jumping jacks. Letting her eyes drift around she watched the others practicing, looking for what part of their bodies they were focusing on, and which parts they weren't. Her eyes eventually found Kylo Ren at the punching bags, working on his jabs and hooks. Rey decided to watch his training, since their masters are hell bent on having them fight to prove a point. Kylo was fast, she could tell that, he seemed to prefer punches aimed at the head or chest, a couple of gut hits thrown in, but it seemed like he didn't really care for kicks. Were his legs weak? No. Rey could see how firm and founded his stance was, he would not be easy to knock over. Perhaps if she injured him first then took him by surprise she could...

It was then that Rey realized she had long since stopped her jumping jacks and had been staring straight at him for a couple minutes, and he had taken note of it. He seemed to smirk cockily at her as he continued to punch the bag, almost flexing purposefully. Rey scoffed and rolled her eyes, turning away to do push ups. She was only at twenty when Ivano interrupted her.

"Rey, that man over there seems to be staring at you." He told her, bringing her attention back over to Kylo by pointing him out. She glared at him and he glared back. Either he was mocking her or toying with her, and she would have none of that.

Standing up from her down position she walked over towards him, stopping at the punching bag next to his. With a quick flash of her arm she punched the bag and sent it swinging back, when it came back to her she unleashed a flurry of punches, kicks, jabbed, and hooks. The tall pale man walked around to the opposite side of her punching bag and hit it when it came towards him. Rey did the same as his hit sent the bag swinging towards her, swinging it back to him. They settled into a strange back and forth, sending the bag between them with a variety of moves, trying to up one each other with every move. In time the bag ended up at a near standstill as they barely let it swing before they returned a serve. Soon they began to tire and came to a stop, both needing to conserve their energy. They stared into each others eyes as they breathed heavily from across the sack. Neither moved or looked away, a strange air being formed around them. Only when a servant came in to tell them it was time to head over to the pit did they finally break eye contact.

Rey turned away and went back over to Ivano and walked out with him, not sparing Kylo another glance as she strode out of the room. There wasn't a waiting room where they sit before their match, only a long hallway and hard floor. Rey of course was last to fight against whoever wins so her wait was the longest. Ivano went second and won his match and, just like her, gave the loser a mercy kill. The fights went on until it was the last semi final, whoever won this match would be the one to go up against her. Those fighting are Ivano and Kylo Ren.

"Ivano." Rey called out to him as he made his way back into the pit. He looked back at her. "Good luck." She wished him, Ivano nodded back at her, neither of them smiling. Kylo walked in after him, glaring at Rey as they passed each, Rey glared back.

The crowd cheered as the two senior fighters walked into the ringed pit, chanting the name of the one they had bet on, which seemed to be mostly Kylo. Rey watched closely as the fight begun. Yesterday Kylo had taken down his opponent with one move, but he had been an amateur, Ivano was much more skilled.

Kylo made the first move, aiming a fist at what looked to be Ivano's neck. He moved so quickly that her friend barely had any time to dodge the first move before he was struck with the second. Ivano stumbled back and just barely escaped a hit to the temple. Kylo was to fast for him, she knew what he was doing, he was trying to wear him out. Rey was just worried that he would wear out before Kylo, since the black haired man didn't seem to be breaking a sweat yet. After a while of simply dodging, Ivano's leg slid and got caught, making him stumble back and nearly fall over. This provided Kylo with the opportunity to send a devastating strike to his temple, knocking Ivano out cold. The crowded thundered in joyful cheers as her friend went out and began to count to five to see if he would get up and continue the fight. However he remained still and not moving. Kylo motioned for a servant to bring him his chosen weapon for his punishment, having his sword delivered to him. Raising the blade in the air, Rey screamed as he brought it down on Ivano's neck.

"NO!" She screamed as his head was detached from his body and blood sprayed out, staining the arena. Ugly tears began to fall from her eyes as she watched Kylo hand his sword off and make his way back into the hall while the servants cleaned the arena for the next match, just so the rich could tell when blood was drawn and not confuse it with blood from the previous match.

It wasn't her duty to clean up the arena tonight, but as soon as the gate opened again she bolted out, past Kylo, and bent over at Ivano's body. Unlike all the other times, she was gentle in moving his body back back into the hallway, laying him down softly. Rey turned his body on his back and placed his head by his neck where it should be, closing his eyes which had been wide open.

"He's dead." Kylo said walking up behind her. "There's no point in mourning him."

"What would you know?" She snapped at him, not bother to look up.

"I know more than you think. Don't allow your sorrow to carry into the match. It will only serve to distract you."

"Shut up!" She yelled, bolting up and turning to him. "I'm gonna kill you, and this time… not with a mercy shot." She hissed in a dark voice, pushing past him to walk away. Rey ran to the nearest washroom and doused her face with water, trying desperately not to throw up from the horror of what was now ingrained into her head. 'He's a monster.' She thought bitterly. 'I will avenge my friend.'

The time had come, the arena was cleared and the chanting was rising through the walls. Kylo was already waiting for her in the center of the ring, his expression was hard to decipher or understand. The richman above them called out both of their names equally. Each of them had years of experience and a streak surpassing two hundred wins. Tonight would be the decided of who lost their title of undefeated champion, and Rey was determined to make it him. The countdown started, ten seconds till they fight. Rey stopped in front of him. Eight seconds. She went into a stance prepared to attack or defend. Six seconds. Kylo copied her stance and looked at her head on. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

Rey made the first move. Kylo dodged it and swung back at her. Rey leaned back and sent a kick up towards his face, he caught her leg, she bounced on her free foot and sent another kicked towards his temple. Kylo once again caught her leg, Rey went down but caught her body on her hands and flipped, sending Kylo flying back a few feet. Rey got up to face him again, he looked at her with shock, as if he was surprised that she was able to get out of his hold. They circled each other, unsure who would make the first move this time. They both went at the same time, Kylo went for a throat jab, Rey moved her head out of the way just slightly and went in for a tackle. She managed to push him back a couple of feet until he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up and slamming her down. Rey hit the ground hard and felt her breath leave her and her body buzz with pain. Kylo aimed a foot at her stomach, but she rolled away and quickly hopped up on her feet.

He charged her, she charged back and aimed a fist for his gut, he caught it and twisted it back. His strength surprised her as he overcame her and bent her arm backwards, Rey began to scream in pain. She must have imagined it but she felt him ease up on his attack slightly. Whether or not he did that on purpose she was unsure, but she saw an opening. Aiming a fist up at his face, she felt her sharp and gnarled thumbnail dig into his face, drawing blood. That as enough to get him to let go, but only for a short moment, before Rey could even think about what to do next he surprised her by sending a powerful kick into her chest, sending her flying back about five feet and slamming into the ground. He pounced on her and held her down, the countdown from five began around the room. Rey fought furiously to escape, but her body was strained and exhausted. Before she knew it, the countdown hit zero and her fate was sealed.

She was going to die.

Funny how she never really cared if she were to die in this ring, but now that it was by the hands of Kylo Ren, a monster, she feared death.

Unklar Plutt made his way to the front as the announcer and owner of the ring. Rey could hear the anger and disappointment of her in his voice as he spoke.

"Kylo Ren, you have defeated my champion. What fate do you decide for her?"

Kylo looked at her in the eyes, the anger and ferocity now gone and left with something strange and unrecognizable. Rey feared that his way to kill her was some cruel and unusual type of torture.

"If you would allow it, my master, I would like to take her in as my apprentice." He spoke loudly, looking from her to Snoke up in the stands.

Snoke mulled over the thought of having another well skilled and trained fighter under his control to raise his wealth and reputation. He seemed to smirk even more as he looked at Unklar Plutt, who'd rather have her killed than in someone else's care. However her master was too proud to deny the decided fate of his fighter.

"Very well, the girl Rey now belongs to Snoke and will train under Kylo Ren, as his apprentice."

The crowd murmured all around, as taking in a fighter previously belonging to a rival was very rare indeed, but is what Kylo Ren had wanted.

Rey looked furiously at the man still atop of her, he looked back blank faced and said nothing. He brought a hand up and stroked her in the neck, hitting a nerve that made her immediately blackout. Picking her up bridal style, Kylo carried her out of the arena and back to his master to prepare to take her back to their home arena and living quarters.

In all her years that she has been preparing for her inevitable loss, Rey could never have prepared for what had just happened. This is not the fate she had expected for herself, nor ever wanted.

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Wow you guys really liked the first chapter, I did not expect that many follows and reviews for a single chapter, thank you. I'll try to update as well as I can and as fast as possible for you guys. See you in the next chapter!

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	3. New Life

Right away Rey knew something didn't feel right. For some reason she felt almost weightless as if she was sleeping on a cloud. There was warmth that seemed to envelope her entire body in a gentle embrace. There were no familiar sounds of pained moans; only the noise of a crackling fire filled her ears. The usual darkness that was present whenever she awoke was nearly chased away, as light fell directly on her face. Rey finally opened her eyes in confusion and found herself in an unfamiliar room. The room was massive and had black stone walls reaching high above her head, a grey fireplace on the opposite wall of her. She, herself, was lying on a strange bed with black wooden posts and deep red sheets and covers.

'This person really likes black.' Rey thought as she got out from under the covers. Looking down at herself she saw that she was still wearing the same clothes from the fight. 'At least this creeper didn't change my clothes… wait.'

The memories of the fights flooded back into her head swiftly with a quick bang. Kylo Ren! That's who brought her here after she lost the match. What was he playing at, what was he hoping to gain? Rey paled as different possibilities ran through her head, one in particular terrified her the most. Looking around her surroundings Rey searched for a way to escape and saw a tall window mostly covered by thick curtains to her left. Jumping out of the bed, Rey belted for the window, but was dragged down when her right ankle got pulled back. Slamming into the ground, Rey turned back to see what had stopped her, and saw a steel cuff wrapped tightly around her ankle, chaining her to the bed frame. She stood up and walked over to the post she was chained to and gravely attempted to break it with her fists, but only bloodied her knuckles instead. Rey winched in pain and hugged her hands to her chest, then resorted to kicking the chain instead.

"You're wasting your time." A voice said from the doorway. _His_ voice. Rey spun around and laid her eyes upon the one man she never wanted to see again. He slowly walked further into the room, pausing when he saw the hatred in her eyes. "You still want to kill me?"

"You're a murderer!" She yelled at him and furiously tried to attack him, the metal of the cuff digging into her skin and drawing blood.

"You should stop doing that." He warned her in a soft voice.

"I don't take orders from the snake that chained me up!" Rey snarled at him and didn't let up on trying to escape. Kylo sighed and walked up closer to her, just out of arm's length.

"It wasn't an order." He told her, quickly grabbing her shoulder, spinning her around, and hit a spot on her spin causing her to temporarily lose all feeling in her body. "And it wasn't my idea to chain you. Master Snoke doesn't trust you yet." He told her as he picked her up and set her back down on the bed. After placing the blankets over her body once again, he stood and left for the door again. "You will get new room arrangements in an hour. Until then, stay here and rest." He said and walked out, closing the door behind him, locking the door as he went.

Rey glowered at the door, willing it, and the rest of the building and everyone in it, to burn. But she caught herself again and corrected her thoughts. Her mind was the only thing she had left, she could _not_ allow herself to lose it to the darkness. Not like it seemed Kylo Ren has lost his. If she stoops down to their level there will be nothing left of her when her parents come for her.

The hour passed by in a drawn out haze while Rey simply stared at the ceiling and walls, letting her mind wander, but there wasn't much for it to wander to. Being forced to sit still like this caused all of her suppressed memories to resurface and torment her, with no way of stopping it. One thing she liked about her old life is that she was constantly working and was given no time to think, but now she was forced back into her own thoughts and memories. Rey tried to combat these thoughts with dreams of places she always wanted to go, like the forest or the ocean, but it's hard to imagine something you've never seen. She didn't know how much time had passed, even though it was only supposed to be an hour it felt like so much longer. Even though light was shining in slightly from the window, she didn't know how to use shadows to tell the time. As back in the underground ring in the city of Jakku, the only light provided was man-made and casted constant shadows.

Tempted to knock herself out so she wouldn't have to think anymore, Rey began to hold her breath. She was almost about to faint, her eyes being covered in blackness, but was interrupted when someone opened the door again. Rey took in a deep breath and looked to the entrance, expecting Kylo Ren again, but instead saw the form of a small woman with a medicine bag at her side and a wheelchair.

"Hello my Lady Rey, I've been sent here to aid you and take you to your new room assignment." The woman said as she walked up next to her. Rey was

wary of her, as she was with all strangers, and tried to back away on the bed, only making it so far before her chains restricted her movement. The woman smiled kindly and reassuringly at her, a look of understanding and empathy in her eyes. "I am not here to hurt you, my Lady," She said to Rey and pulled out a cloth and a bottle of disinfectant. Putting the cloth on top of the bottle's snout she quickly flipped it over and back, getting only a tiny amount on the cloth. Reaching her hand out she gestured for Rey to give her hand to her. "I am here to help."

Rey eyed her up and down suspiciously before she tentatively reached her hand over to strange woman. The woman grabbed her wrist and began to dab her cut with the disinfectant. Rey winched but bit her tongue, not willing herself to appear weak to another person. Once both her hands were disinfected, she cleaned them off with a damp cloth before bandaging both of them.

"Okay, next I need you to stand up and sit in this chair." The woman directed, pointing to the wheelchair she brought in.

"Why?" Rey questioned, unmoving.

"I'm sorry my Lady, but the master does not trust you to stay yet, he has ordered you to be contained at all times." The woman responded. Rey eyed her once again, still not completely trusting her, but then she looked at her wrists and saw scars, chain scars. Rey looked back up to this woman and realized she truly didn't want to restrain her, but could not disobey her orders either.

'She's a slave to.' Rey perceived in the mind. 'Of course she is, we all are.'

"Okay then." She sighed and stood up from the bed, walking over and setting herself down in the chair. Just as she had expected, she was strapped to the chair, but this time by thick cloth not metal.

"Thank you, but just one last thing before I take you to your new room." The other girl noted and unchained Rey's leg, treating her other wound and wrapping her foot with a cloth bandage.

"So why am I getting a new room?" Rey inquired as the girl stood back up and began to push her towards the door. "What's wrong with this room?"

The girl chuckled a bit at this before she answered. "This room is Lord Ren's personal chambers. When he brought you in a room had not been

prepared, so he brought you there." Rey shuddered in disgust from the thought of that wretched man holding her in his arms and taking her to his private room, what a creep.

"He could have just put me in a dark cell." Rey retorted, dawning a look of distaste.

"Well Lord Ren certainly has been acting off." The woman noted as she rounded a corner down the hall. "Let me say that everyone was surprised when he brought you here. It's been six years since he last spared someone in the ring."

They came to a stop in front of a large white door, contrast to the black door of Kylo Ren's quarters. The room itself wasn't actually too far from where she was being held previously, just down the hall and to the left down the hall to the end. The woman opened the door and pushed her inside, closing the door behind her. The room was only slightly smaller, but still very large in diameter, with a fireplace of its own. Every window had its curtains pulled back, letting the bright lights of outside pour into the room, illuminating the room clearly. The walls weren't the dark black stones of the previous room, instead having a light gray color to them. The bed sat at the center right wall with the fireplace directly opposite. In all her life that she could remember, Rey never had her own room, let alone a room as nice as this. She was so dumbfounded that she didn't realize the woman undoing her wrist restraints.

"If you need anything there shall be a guard posted at your door at all times, just simply tell him and he will call for someone." The woman said as she undid the final restraint and headed back for the door, taking the wheelchair with her. "Dinner will be delivered in an hour, everything else you might need will be in here. If you need the restroom, the guard will escort you."

"When will I be able to move around on my own?" Rey questioned.

"When you gain Master Snoke's trust." She replied, closing the door.

"Wait!" Rey called, stopping her. "I don't know your name." The

girl looked away, removing her gaze from Rey's, looking almost belittled somehow, like she didn't think she had the right to speak it.

"Mashra."

The door closed, the sound of it locking then followed. Mashra, that name sounded familiar somehow, but she wasn't sure what from, she couldn't remember.

Rey began to look around her new cell, a beautiful one nonetheless, but still a cell. The first place she went to were the windows, barricaded off by iron bars, however the view was spectacular. The background in between the bars showed off a beautiful image of a town below surrounded by a super large group of trees and a big blue body that led out into the horizon.

"I-is that a f-forest… and ocean?" She gasped under her breath, not yet believing what she was seeing. Rey reached her arm out between the bars at the scenery, sunlight from about hit her hand, spreading warmth throughout her body. Then a cool breeze struck her and brought in the salty smell of the sea and the wood chip smell of the forest. Tears began to prick her eyes as she let out a overwhelmed and joyful gasp of air. "So this is what it feels like." Rey cried and let the tears come, too exhilarated to care about appearing strong. Right now in this moment, Rey felt like a child filled with wonder at the world.

For the next hour Rey sat by the window, occasionally switching between the three to get different views of the outside, enjoying the feeling of the calming breeze and warmth of the sun on her naturally tanned skin. This time around her thoughts and memories no longer bothered her since they could not compete with all she was taking in at the moment. She had nineteen years worth of viewing to make up for. So when the knock at the door finally arrived, Rey didn't bother to move from her spot. If she were to die right now, she'd die peacefully with a smile on her face.

"Dinner, my Lady." Mashra said and pulled in a cart, taking it to the small table by the fireplace and placing it down. Rey reluctantly looked away from her window, her stomach growling in complaint, and went over to the table to eat. Seating herself down, Mashra removed the cover for her, unveiling her glorious meal. Never before in her memories did Rey have a meal that looked this delicious before. In front of her was a thick juicy looking chicken leg, eggs, hot fresh bread, broccoli, and a tall glass of clean water. All types of food she'd seen on a basis being scarfed down the throats of the rich. It took _everything_ she had not to shove everything in her mouth at once. No matter how hungry she was or how delectable the food looked, she still had her pride, and she still didn't trust these people; this all seemed too good to be true.

Mashra noticed her hesitation and reluctance to eat her dinner, so she asked, "Do you want me to taste test the food for you, my Lady?"

Rey shook her head and pouted, looking back up at Mashra she began to feel guilty. She had suffered like Rey has, and now she'd have to watch her eat like she used to watch the rich eat. That didn't sit well with her stomach. What's the point of rebelling against her new owner, Unklar Plutt or Snoke, she still didn't have her freedom, just because she switched ownership doesn't mean she's anything more than the rest.

"No, I want you to eat with me." Rey smiled, tearing the bread in half and holding one piece out to Mashra.

"Oh no, my Lady, I couldn't-"

"Call me Rey, and it's fine. Just because I'm a fighter and you're a servant doesn't make me above you." Rey said and placed the bread into her hands. "This can be a secret just between us." She winked. Mashra looked nervously at the bread, reluctance clear on her face; obviously no one of a higher status had ever offered to share their meal with her before. Looking to Rey for one finally confirmation that it was alright, Rey gave her a nod, and she shyly took a bite and smiled.

"Thank you my Lady Rey." She said as she began to stuff her face with the bread. Rey smiled and followed suit, being just as if not hungrier than Mashra.

"Just call me Rey, the whole 'Lady' thing is strange."

"But my Lady it's required." Mashra told her, putting down her food.

"Required?" Rey echoed. She nodded and continued.

"The servants here are all given rank titles based on their necessity and importance to the Master. Fighters are known as Lord or Lady, like you and Lord Ren," Rey grimaced at the mention of that man and the fact that she was given a rank over others simply for entertainment fighting, it wasn't right. "Then there's the chief of staff, General Hux, who has authority over all except the fighters; and Captain Phasma who trains both the fighters and the guards."

"So what exactly does my apparent title let me do?" Rey inquired and took a bite out of her chicken, handing a chunk over to Mashra for her to have some as well.

"Well you can limit a small amount of control over a small section of guards assigned to you, but nothing that would assist escape."

"Obviously." Rey noted.

"However the General and Captain cannot order you around unless allowed to by the Master, in case they would need a signature stamp from the Master himself. Besides that only Master Snoke can order you around directly." Mashra explained, then gestured towards the eggs in asking, Rey allowed her to have some and pushed the plate towards her.

"So, does this mean Kylo Ren can't order me what to do?" The fighter questioned, feeling hopeful.

"Well, he can for the time being. Right now he's your supervisor until you gain the Master's trust."

"And how long should that take?"

"Well for Lord Ren it took two years. The kind of trust your looking for is absolute subjugation, basically he wants you to lose sight of who you are and become a puppet." Mashra elaborated for her.

Rey looked down in near defeat to her new predicament, she thought back to her previous life in the Jakku city undergrounds of Niima Outpost. It's not like she knew who she was back then, she's been a puppet for as long as she could remember, it was all for survival, here it was for rank. It's sickening

how she's been put above others just because she knows how to fight to the death for the amusement of the sadistic rich who don't even see her as a human, but as cattle. If the only thing loyalty got her was privilege above her fellow slaves then she didn't want it, she would rather live like the rest of them than become like Kylo Ren.

"Mashra, where do you fit in all this?" Rey asked though she knew the answer.

"I don't have a place." Mashra responded predictably, "I'm a slave."

"So am I." She said and began to gather all the uneaten food onto a cloth napkin and folded it, handing it to her saying, "Take this, and give it to the others."

"Lady Rey I can't, it's your meal-"

"And I'm giving this to you, no one, not even the Master, told me I can't. Hide it in your waistband and cover it with your apron. You're not stealing from the kitchen nor from me, this is a gift." Rey directed and placed the wrapped food in her small hands, putting the girl's own hand over it. Mashra looked up to Rey with teary eyes, giving her a look of gratefulness.

"Thank you, my Lady Rey." She whispered, Rey smiled back and waved her goodbye as she went.

When the door closed and locked again the room once again fell into silence. She fear for what she just did, but at the same time she was proud of herself for helping others like her. It may seem petty to resist such a pleasured life, but it was all she could do to avoid becoming what and who she loathed. If Kylo broke after two years and began to use his power over the others until he became delusional enough to think he was any better than them, and then she'd have to remind herself of where she was raised and how. She was no better than Mashra and the others, so she refused to act like she was.

Walking back over to the windows, Rey sat down and once again admired the sky. The sun was now setting and turned the sky into multiple beautiful hues. Rey couldn't see the sun itself from her window, but she still enjoyed the look of the never ending horizon of the ocean in the distance now being colored in red and orange. She may be pampered now, but that made no difference to who she was as a person, she was still lost and confused and without her parents, she was still bounded by these walls.

She was still a slave. Now with a nice view and good food. If he thought he could win her over with this then he is dead wrong.

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Sorry if this seems like I'm over selling the fact that she's in slavery, I feel like I keep going on about it, am I? Any way school starts back up on Tuesday and second semester is always harder than the first, my updates will become more irregular and less frequent, but it should never be more than a month in between chapters. I'll try to get another update in before then but no promises.

Tell me what you think in the reviews! You know I love reading them. Promise Kylo will be in the next chapter more than he was in this one. Love y'all!

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	4. Confusion

Two days had passed since she had woken up in this place, today making it three, and anything has yet to happen. Everyday all she would do was look out the window at the scenery, enjoying the sounds of the birds in the distance and sometimes, when the air was still enough, listen to the sounds of the town travel in. When she wasn't at her window Rey would talk with Mashra whenever she came around, asking about how things worked at this arena, what the other servants were like, and also just inquiring as to how she fit in among them. Then when she was left alone by herself in her needlessly gigantic room, Rey trained herself to keep up her strength, practicing all of her attacks, defenses, evasion, and techniques. Kylo Ren had an upper hand in size, brute strength, as well as experience, so all she could do was heighten her technique to combat all that.

She noticed that his style had a lot to do with pressure points and utilizing them against his opponent early on to weaken their ability to continue fighting. Rey didn't know of any way specifically to avoid or counteract that technique, so she primarily focused on evasive fighting, giving lightning flash jabs before backing out of arm's length.

Rey didn't want to be his apprentice; she didn't want to learn from him, no matter how valuable his knowledge is. Yet she could not leave, she was bound to this building- this room -and her new master. The only way she could possibly avoid becoming a pupil to the likes of _him_ was if Rey managed to defeat him in battle. She lost the first time because he caught her off guard and held her down with him massive body weight, she needed a way to avoid falling into his grasp in order to avoid another hold- hence why she was training in evasion. Fighting isn't just a flurry of punches and big mussels; it also has to do greatly with strategy, technique, and stamina. So far Rey hasn't seen the limits of his stamina, so she doesn't know how long he can last in a match. The greatest ring fighters could go for half an hour without tiring, but that was extremely difficult to do and she has never been able to last that long.

Unlike the normal spectator fighting, which she's heard of on occasion but has never seen, where it's purely for sport and not to the death, there are up to three rounds up with a six minute time limit, meaning they have to fight for about eighteen minutes with breaks in between. The type of fighting she was pushed into lasted until the other was dead, it could last any period of time, so stamina was key. Although, fights lasting more than half an hour were rare because of the brutality and inhumanity of the fighting. Rey has never had a fight last more than fifteen minutes, and her stamina could last her nine minutes, all the times she'd run low on energy she would result to fighting dirty or smartly. However, she felt like those tricks would not last on a monster like Kylo Ren, and her current skill level (as much as she hated to admit it) could not match up to his. The only chose Rey saw that she had was to build up her stamina to the absolute limit.

Paying no heed to the roaring ache in her muscles, Rey climbed up the posts of her bed to the bars that held the dark blue drapes over the bed and hung upside down by the bar and did as many curl-ups as physically possible before all the blood rushed to her head. After that she simply grabbed onto the bar and hung in the air by her arms, seeing how long she could last just holding herself up inches above the ground. She counted the seconds to see what her strained limit was- not counting minutes since she never learned how to count time besides seconds, Rey had always gotten her time from what people were doing in the undergrounds, going by breakfast, lunch, and dinner to tell the time of day; Unklar Plutt always told her what her best time was, but never educated her on how to tell for herself. Rey knew that her best time was five hundred and forty seconds because she once counted the seconds of a match that lasted nine minutes, that's also how Rey knew thirty minutes was one thousand eight hundred seconds. She just didn't know how to use math to figure out how long a minute was, and the other fighters weren't joyfully offering to teach a competitor how to do math calculations, Ivano didn't know how either. So Rey simply resulted to counting seconds, not that it bothered her. When all you ever did was slave over work all day everyday with nothing else to do, counting in your head was an alright way to pass the time.

At last I felt my arms way heavier and heavier and fail to hold me up. I started to circum to my tired body and slip down when the door to my room was unlocked and opened. In walked Mashra, with our regularly scheduled dinner. However when she saw me hanging by my bed posts' upper bar she froze in her spot as the guard outside, Slip, closed the door and locked it.

"Um, Rey… what are you doing up there?" She asked as she slowly walked over towards the side bed. When she reached her, Rey finally let herself fall to the ground, her arms flaring.

"I was trying to increase my stamina." The tired girl replied as she sunk down to the floor.

"May I ask why?" Mashra inquired and sat down next to her. "How long were you up there?"

"About three hundred and sixty three seconds, I'm trying to find a way to beat Kylo's technique."

"Three hundred… seconds… Rey, don't you know how to count minutes?" The servant asked the fighter. Rey shook her head no.

"I've only learned how to count seconds, I don't know how to do maths." Rey admitted, suddenly feeling sheepish about her lack of an education at such a late age.

"Are you literate?" Mashra inquired further.

"What that mean?" Rey asked back, she'd never heard of that word before.

"It means to able to read and write." Mashra defined.

"Oh, well I can read a little, but I've never written before. I might be able to do it."

"Would you like me to help you? I've had an education up until I was sixteen."

"Really you would do that for me?" Rey asked excitedly, thrilled that she might at last get an education after years of only being able to count to two thousand and read the labels on the food in the kitchen.

"Of course, were friends aren't we?" Mashra smiled, Rey's eyes widened slightly in unexpected surprise, then smiled back as well.

"Yes, we are."

"Well then, let's have dinner then get you a bath."

"A bath?"

…

The large the metal door stood menacingly before him, taunting him with what lays on the other side of its iron hinges. Kylo Ren had been summoned by Master Snoke and was due to arrive at once. He could think of only one thing that would call for such a sudden call, which could lead to two possibilities of what would happen in there.

Waving off two his personal guards, Kylo motioned for them to stay in the hallway then opened the large door, walking into the room with a tall stance. The room was draped with crimson red curtains all around the walls, the lights set on dim as usual. Guards in red armor stood on all sides, watching closely as he walked forward towards Snoke's large throne like seat, taking a knee when he came closer.

"You summoned me, my master?" Kylo questioned, his head down in a submissive bow.

"Yes, my apprentice. I have called you here to inquire about the young Rey." Kylo could sense the disappointment and acquisition in his master's voice.

"Her injuries from are fight have been healing, my master. My resources have told me that's she's been training herself in her room since she's arrived." Kylo informed his master, still keeping his gaze locked on the floor.

"Then what has been keeping you from starting her training?" He questioned threateningly, suspicion laced in his breath. Kylo could feel his insides begin to sink down and tighten.

"My method of training is extremely vigorous and brutal, my master, the girl would not be able to survive if she was not fully healed." He offered in reply, strengthening his resolve to not let his composure crack under the pressure that was rising up. However, it seemed like it was not enough to hind the influx of tone in his voice. Snoke's eyes squinted at his second hand and favored fighter.

"You have compassion for her." He muttered in a low, haunting voice. Kylo finally dared to look up, his eyes visibly showing a resolve and contempt, but also a layer of uncertainty.

"Impossible, this girl is but a foolish child." Kylo Ren denied his master's claim.

"Yet she has created a rift in your spirit. Dominate her; mind, body, and soul. Remind her of what she is, only then will you clear your mind of these treacherous thoughts." Snoke commanded him, sending a cold chill throughout his body. "You will start her training tomorrow."

"Yes, master." Kylo bowed his head once more, standing to his feet and turning away towards the door which he had walked in through.

His guards were waiting for his as he had commanded, and followed him without being acknowledged. He found himself convicted and confused, unsure of what it was he had done and what he was after. When he had decided the girl's fate when he defeated her, he had surprised even himself, for he had long since rid himself of his compassion for others years ago, never even thinking of sparing an opponent since then. So when the words to take her in came out of his mouth, he was left perplexed by his own being.

Yet there was something about her that made his decision so obvious. They had spoken with each other only twice before their fight, though he could see her own inner conflict reflected in her eyes, and above all else, her longing and loneliness. He felt himself sympathize with her, something he was not used to doing, but felt was right with her. Kylo could sense a likeness between them. It infuriated him. It intrigued him.

When he carried her in his arms, he felt an attachment form along with a fierce protectiveness. The girl has known suffering as he has, it made him want to save her, but he could not do that entirely. Kylo's only option was to switch out her physical torture for his mental torture.

Then when he had first confronted her, she turned him away, believing him to be not but a horrid monster. Kylo had expected as much, but it also made him crave her understanding, and her destruction. He wanted her freedom and protection; he wanted her submission and fear. Kylo was unsure what it was he wanted at this point, nor why it was that had brought him here. How was it that felt both empathy and envy for this girl?

An inquiring, fluttering voice sounded down the hall to his right. Rey was with her personal servant and caretaker, standing outside the bathroom, her appointed guard following close behind.

"So you don't stand up in a bath?" She questioned, obviously intrigued about what he guessed was her first bath.

"No, my Lady, you sit down in a bath." Her caretaker answered as she opened the door to her prepared tub. He watched from the side as she walked in after her, and he could her astonishment form where he was standing.

"Wow! Why is there so much water in this hole?"

Kylo felt the corner of his mouth twitch up ever so slightly before his face fell flat immediately afterwards. This girl was indeed ignorant and foolish, it was endearing and irking at the same time. Kylo walked over, nodding to both Rey's guard and his guards to step back and give him some privacy, when her servant came back out, she looked up at him in slight surprise.

"My Lord, what can I do for you?"

"I want a report, how has she been?"

"I'm giving her a bath, just as you had ordered. It seems like she's only ever had showers with cold water ten seconds at a time before now." Mashra provided him with knowledge to which he was demanding from her.

"Is she still training in her room every day?"

"Yes, today I found her hanging from her bedpost trying to increase her stamina."

"For what reason?"

"You." She said back. Kylo was taken back with the unexpected news. "She says that she's trying to find a way to defeat you in battle. She admitted that she cannot match your technique and strength, so she's trying to find another way around that."

He would have felt flattered of her mindset being on him if it wasn't for her wanting to surpass and leave him. A small glare set on his face as an acquisitive feeling wedge its way into him. If the girl, Rey, thought that she could defeat him as she was, then he'd joyously show her how wrong she was.

"Anything else?" He asked through gritted teeth.

Mashra hesitated for a moment, pondering whether or not she should tell him. But his obvious intolerance and lack of patience convinced her to say it anyway. "...I've found that she's had no previous education. She's only able to read certain labels of food and count, albeit to high numbers, she doesn't even know how to measure the passage of time."

All previous feeling of contempt or irritancy therefore fled as he heard this, how basic this knowledge seems to many, yet she has not been privileged enough to learn. He felt his heart be pierced with that pesky feeling of sympathy once again. He looked over to the door where she resided behind as if he could see through it. In that moment he wanted to save her and become someone to which she could rely on for help.

"Then teach her." He commanded as he walked away, heading back for his room down the hall. Slamming the door behind him upon walking in, abandoning his guards outside. He strode over to the fireplace and set it ablaze, sitting back in his chair as he watched the flame grow and overtake the wood inside, stripping away at the bark and turning it black. The fire consumed and dominated whatever it touched, leaving nothing but ash behind. He was called to be like that fire by his master, told to be the dominator and consume Rey's whole being in order to survive and stay lit. Yet, he wasn't sure if he could do as he was ordered.

Rey had the stained spirit of a child whose only wish was to belong and craved for understanding. Even with the blood and dirt that stained her, she still managed to shine. Kylo was too far gone, he could never shine again after all that he has done, he could never leave this place. Now neither could she; if she is to continue to stay under him her light will only be dirtied until it no longer shines.

Kylo wanted to protect that innocence, but he was sent to destroy it. He can no longer tell what it is that he's after, and he fears that if he continues down this road that he has paved with his decision to spare her, that she will become the fire that will destroy and taint him.

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Hey guys! I managed to squeeze in another update! Thank you all for being so willing to wait. I must apologize beforehand for any future delays, but I will try my best do upate at least once every... Two weeks. No promises. I hope y'all liked the chapter and I'll see you later!

P.s I called it maths because that's the proper name for shortening mathematics.

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	5. Falling

Rey arouse at five O'clock in the morning, according to an object called a 'wall clock' that Mashra had given her yesterday, before the sun had even shined in to let its presence known. She had nothing to do except look out the window and walk in circles. For as long as she could remember she was always bordering exhaustion, continuously working with little to no breaks, sometimes having to eat on the job in order to get something done. Now, finally at last, Rey had the opportunity to rest and lay back, but she also could not sleep. After very many years of constantly rising up at the same time her body had programmed itself to its own internal schedule. So whether she wanted to be or not, Rey was forced awake every morning with nothing to do, and she _needed_ something to do to avoid her thoughts. Staring at the late dawn was beautiful to watch as it rose above the sea water, but that wouldn't be for a while longer and it could not occupy her mind enough to suppress memories from resurfacing. She needed something more mentally active to distract herself, not just physically.

Lighting a candle, Rey paced around her chambers peering around at the walls searching for something that would peak her interest and almost gave up and was about to resign to simply working out like usual, until an odd object on the ceiling caught her attention. Up above her head in the near left corner, at least twenty feet up, a small, square, wooden door was placed curiously. There was no obvious way up, for the bookshelf below was only eight feet tall, leaving twelve feet left of unclimbable wall. Rey began to look around frantically for some item that would help her reach that little door. Nothing. Not a thing in sight that would help her get to that little door, and possibly escape. She'd have to get creative somehow.

Rey started to mull over how it was she could find a way up there. The bookshelf was too thin to stand a chair on top of it, let alone a table. There no ladder in here and she didn't have any rope-

'Rope! The curtains!' Rey shot up in realization, rushing over to the curtains by the windows. Her smile turned to a frown, however, when she found that the curtains were too thick to tear apart with her hands, she'd need a knife or scissors. It dawned on her then that she could probably sneak a knife away from a meal.

Twas a waiting game then, that's fine. Until her next meal, Rey would simply work on the basic addition and subtraction Mashra showed her yesterday. She went over to her table and pulled out the box of tiles Mashra had used to explain the math.

Two tiles plus three tiles equaled five tiles, minus one tile equaled four tiles. Using the tiles as a visual aid helped Rey learn quickly and understand what it was she was learning. Five tiles minus three equals two tiles, plus eight tiles equals… ten tiles!

Thus was the way she spent the next two hours until seven when Mashra was let in by her guard, Slip, bearing her breakfast meal.

"Good morning, my Lady Rey." The older brunette greeted with a grin while she pushed a cart tray over to the table.

"Morning," Rey greeted, back standing up to hug her friend, "It's good to see you." And it was, it always was, as seeing Mashra was the only time of the day -besides the times Slip would escort her to the bathroom- that Rey got to speak with another person. Setting aside her math tiles, Mashra set up their breakfast of eggs on toast and pears. Rey wilted internally upon seeing that there wasn't a knife in sight, because who would need a knife to eat a pear. Seems like her plan had hit an even further setback.

"I see you've been studying." Mashra noted with a nod towards her tiles.

"Oh yes," Rey confirmed as she sat down at the table once more and began to eat. "Nothing much to do in here by myself." She said with bread crumbs running down her face. The other slave cracked a smile before losing it as she looked down.

"Well you won't always be in here for now on." She said in a small voice, clearly not pleased by the truth that she was aware of. Rey became puzzled as to what she meant and inquired so, but was not met with an answer. She was put off by the way Mashra abruptly changed the subject, but decided against pushing further.

The air shifted for the ending duration of the meal, but they were able to lighten the mood when they moved on to her studies.

"Okay, so we'll do a short math refresher before I lead you into higher numbers, then later we'll go on to literacy." Mashra announced after she cleaned away and set aside their dishes. Rey eagerly nodded and listen carefully as her lesson began.

First they went over what they learned the day prior, basics, after that she introduced the symbols for the teens up to twenties and had Rey repeatedly write down the numeral symbols. Then they went on to higher math addition and subtraction. One particular equation once written out continued to stump her.

23 - 15 =

The symbols looked so new that they kept on confusing her. However she found she found that saying it out loud and counting up from fifteen to twenty-three helped to solve despite the equations off-putting look.

8

She wrote.

The hour ticked by on the clock as they worked together, Rey almost forgot about the awkwardness at the breakfast table until a knock sounded at the door.

"It's time." Slip announced from the other side of the door. Mashra let out a sigh and pushed herself up from her seat.

"What is it Mashra?" Rey asked and stood up as well. "What's happening?"

"...I have been ordered not to tell you, but simply to take you there." Mashra replied, her voice sounding slightly colder.

Rey frowned but did not argue further, knowing that it would be pointless to do so. Thus Rey simply followed behind quietly, keeping her guard up to any opposing threats. She was led down the hall, past the bathroom, turned right at the end of the hall and walked all the way down the extremely long hallway to the very end where she was stopped in front of a door. From the outside she could hear grunting, shouting, and clashing; she knew immediately that this was the training room, and what this meant. Rey was about to bolt the other way, but was held still by Slip, who struggled to keep her there.

This is what Mashra meant by her saying that she wouldn't be spending all of her time in her bedroom anymore, today is the beginning of her training as Kylo Ren's pupil, the last thing that she ever wanted to happen.

"My Lady Rey, please calm down." Mashra begged of her, trying to calm her down. Rey retaliated by continuing to struggle.

"No! I don't want anything to do with that man!" Rey refused in a loud shout just as she managed to reclaim one of her arms. She was about to further fight back when the door to the training room suddenly opened and revealed the tall feature that was Kylo Ren, standing intimidating over them. Rey shot him a hateful glare the moment she laid eyes on him, and he glared back.

"You refuse to be trained?" He inquired in a derisive tone, standing luminously overall three of them, but with his attention completely concentrated on her.

Rey peered angrily at him, not backing down despite his stance of power and commanding aura. On the inside she felt shaken by his image, she knew she could not handle him; however she would never let her emotions betray her and reveal herself to him.

"Yes." She hissed venomously, standing up straight to her full height, but still falling six inches short of him.

Kylo's eyes hardened as if he was deeply thinking about something she could only guess was a punishment. They stared each other down without breaking contact, neither one blinking, seemingly having an inner conversation that only they understood, taunting each other to make a move but both too scared to do so. Eventually his expression changed, his eyes softening as he blinked at her.

"Challenge me." He murmured. Rey, thrown off in surprise, did not immediately answer and only gaped at him. Noticing this, he spoke again. "Duel with me, if you win you will not have to be trained."

"And… what is the consequence?"

"...You will receive lessons from me. Not just in martial arts, but also in literature and language. Mashra will continue your math sessions."

Rey thought over her options, overall they didn't seem all too bad, if she won she wouldn't have to deal with this pompous beast any longer. On the other hand she would be offered the education she had always been deprived from, the only dark side being learning from said pompous beast. She puzzled over which one was worse and she decided on the latter. She has survived many years before him with her own training; she was not in requirement of his skills. This as well as the fact that education was pointless to her, as a slave, it was not needed. At last she had made her decision, she had more to lose than to gain.

"I refuse." She replied with clear cut coldness. Kylo was visibly stunned by her words, his eyes widened ever so slightly and his posture failing him.

"On what grounds is this refusal, may I ask?" He inquired, quickly picking himself up again.

"Your character, I refuse to allow someone such as you to be anything more in my mind than an enemy."

"Then you have the mind of a fool."

"One is often called a fool for being wary of others."

"That wariness is often based off of ill judgment."

"It is not ill if it is the truth."

"The truth is not always as it appears." Said he. Without either of them giving notice to their own movement, they had slowly drawn closer to each other, within each other's area of breath. A single half step would be enough to connect their bodies together. Even when they ended all speech and resolved to glaring, they had not noticed their closeness.

Kylo was the first to step back, nearly staggering as he felt like a connection had just been severed. She felt it to, and she felt it back when they had first trained back in her underground ring beneath Jakku; she didn't understand it nor was it desired yet it was simply there.

"Phasma!" Kylo yelled, calling for the appearance of his most trusted captain. A tall short, blond haired woman came walking up behind in such a dignified manner that demanded respect.

"Yes, My Lord?" She responded upon her arrival.

"Train the girl. She is too headstrong to give into the reason of accepting my seniority." He grunted as he stomped off down the hall away from their location in front of the training room, his two personal guards on his tail. Rey watched him go, proud that won the dispute. Thereafter Rey immediately turned her attention to the new woman before her; as did she.

"So you're the girl who gave Kylo quite a challenge." She noted looking down to her, her face mixed with interest and question.

"I am." Rey said proudly.

"Well no more." Phasma said in a curt tone, taking the younger by slight surprise. "In my eyes you still failed to defeat him, and now it is up to me to strengthen that raw talent into something even more. Come." She motioned for Rey to follow her into the room beyond the door, and she did.

...

Rey was knocked down to the ground for the fifth time that day, each of her attacks proving fruitless and her evasions just as so. Captain Phasma proved to be more than a worthy opponent. She looked up at the taller woman, she was panting and had a few scratches, but it was nothing compared to what Rey had. The younger was nearly gasping for breath, bruised and bloodied, he limbs became heavy and turned to noodles; she didn't know how much longer she could last as she was.

It had been five days now since she had begun training under Phasma, and every day was more gruesome than the last. She felt like she would snap from the tiniest pat, but she would not give in no matter how the pain. Within these last few days Rey had learned more on offense, contrary to her previous knowledge of defense and evasion. On the other hand, it seemed the Captain was all about strength, attack, and strategy. The classic tactic of evasion to tire out an opponent was seen as weak and cowardly and she was forbidden from using it. Rey was forced into offense nearly every moment of the four hours she spent in the training room with the older woman. She found herself entirely tiresome after each session and glad for an awaiting bath after her time.

The hot water was soothing on her cuts and wounds and seemed to numb the pain and calm her mind. She had actually fallen asleep at one point and nearly drowned; now she was at full attention whenever she was in the tub.

The lessons she had in math and literacy were always her favorite part of the day. For after a long day of being beaten down, it felt good to just sit around and learn with her friend Mashra.

However, Rey began to notice that as the days passed she had began to become comfortable with her new relaxed living style and began to fear she would think herself better than the rest. She swore than to herself that she would always find a way to remind herself of what she was; and she found that in the iron bars that kept her from escaping, and her new nightly project of subtle turning her curtains into rope to reach that little door.

But now was not the time for any of those thoughts, as she was currently being smacked around and failing to defend herself.

"Come now, surely someone of your reputation can do better than this!" Phasma shouted and aimed a kick for her stomach. Rey rolled away and came to her feet, too weak to try and block her leg.

"Reputation?" Rey repeated confused. "What do you mean?"

"Obviously a reigning champ such as yourself has a long trail of names in your shadow of past victories. Almost no other fighter has killed as much as you." Phasma said with miniscule respect, meaning her words as a form of complement. However they were not took in the same way. Rey visibly flinched at the mention of her past and felt herself shrink in.

"It is not something in which I take pride." Rey said as she stood up to her full height, watching over her breathing in attempt to regain control.

"Ha! That is of a child's matter to give pity to the enemy." She scoffed in belittling amusement.

"If to hold value in life is the maker of a child, than a child I'd rather be than an adult who values nothing."

"You contradict yourself, my dear Rey. For here you say you value life, but yet have a history of taking it."

"I give them mercy, Captain. If I had not then they surely would have been tortured to death. That of which I cannot bear."

"An ignorant child you truly are then, did you think that all masters throw away their fighters like trash? Nay, only the wealthy, for they have credits to spare to buy a replacement; the majority of masters keep their slaves even after a loss. My dear child, you have been misguided and have committed genocide without just cause."

A rug had been pulled out from beneath her feet and she felt herself fall into conflict and despair. Everything she thought she was, what she stood for, was a lie; she knew it all along but did not want to admit to it, and now she was forced to. The pit she had dug herself with thing topsoil seemed endless as she could not land on any ground to retort back or defend her actions. She knew the truth, but she still would not admit to it, less she snap.

"You lie." Rey cried.

"I assure you I am not." Phamsa replied with ernest.

"You lie!" Rey shouted as she flung herself at Phasma, tears flowing down her face, and attacked her with such ferocity that she had not felt since her fight with Kylo after she watched Ivano die at his hands.

Phasma blocked her first few attacks but quickly found herself overcome by Rey's raw strength fueled by rage, which made her almost invincible. Rey managed to clobber her in the gut, making her bend over in pain, then taking her head into her hands she brought it down on her knee, breaking Phasma's nose. The woman cried out in pain and fell back, Rey ran forward and mounted her, striking repeatedly, ignoring the bruises on the other's face and her own knuckles.

"Liar! Deceit! I did not murder them!" Rey continued to scream. Five guards hastily ran over and pulled her off, but struggled to hold her in place as she shifted her rage onto them. Her mind was lost to grief and she could no longer be calmed down as she became erratic in her movements, harming the guards who tried to settle her. Kylo was called for but did not arrive for a good ten minutes, but when he did her quickly assesses the situation and ran over to Rey.

Swiftly he raised a hand and performed the same move he did on her after their fight in the ring, numbing every part of her body and causing her to become drowsy until she passed out. And the last thing that she saw was not the cold face of her nemesis, but the conflicted and scared face of a boy.

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Hey y'all sorry I got this out so late. My life has been HECTIC and it isn't looking to be any better soon. May be weeks again until I post, but we'll see. Thanks to all who have been so patient with me, I really appreciate it. Sorry if the last bit made any of y'all uncomfortable.

If you could tell by the dialogue in this chapter I've begun to read Pride and Prejudice. Fanominole book! See ya!

Favorite, Follow, Review~


	6. Denial

The room was warm and softly lit when Rey next awakened. A strange and sweet scent reached her nostrils, something she didn't recognize, but quite liked. She was laid down softly into her own bed and tucked in gently with the blankets pulled up to her nose. She let out a breath as she opened her eyes to the comfy surroundings. This whole scene-waking up in bed after passing out- was becoming much too familiar for her taste.

Rising up into a sitting position Rey first looked down at her body and saw that she had been changed out of her previous training clothes, and put into a long, white cotton nightgown. She became perplexed as she looked up around the room for anyone around who might have done this; her eyes locating Kylo, sitting in a chair at the end of her bed.

A foul bile began to rise in her throat at the sight of him, but was pushed down.

"Why are you here?" She asked in a rude tone. She was met with silence for several heart beats as he simply continued to look at her.

"I wanted to make sure that you were fine. I often use my technique too harshly and cause unintentional damage." He finally replied in a much more collected tone, his eyes softening when he saw her eye him cautiously. Seeming to predict her question before she voiced it, he laid her worries to rest. "I carried you here, but Mashra was the one to change you, and I was not present for that."

Rey visibly relaxed at his words and let out a breath of relief. At least she still has her dignity against him, something that has not bound her by chains.

The air became tense as the conversation ceased with neither of them speaking a single word. Rey would prefer it if he left her alone all together; but she had questions, ones she could not answer herself, and ones Mashra would not understand. Kylo Ren was the only one who has been in her place before, he's the only other slave fighter here. However, her pride and prejudice against him stepped in the way of her inquiry. She didn't want to turn to a beast like him for questions on humanity. Yet she could feel herself being eaten alive by the words spoken to her by Phasma. She shuddered at the thought of the countless numbers of slaves whom she thought she was protecting in a way, who she thought she liberated, had died at her hands from a misguided belief. Her stomach clenched when she imagined their begging faces that she reluctantly ignored.

Rey felt herself falling into a pit of despair, deeper than it had ever been before. She's lost the one thing she ever believed in, the only right she could ever see in her despicable life had been turned into a wrong. With that she had lost her footing; the only thing that had kept her away from madness was now gone.

She _needed_ answers, something to tell her that she wasn't what she feared she was becoming, or had been all along. That she was no better than the man in front of her.

"How could you do it?" She finally brought herself to ask, her voice small and almost inaudible; yet somehow booming between them.

"Do what?" He responded purposefully for reasons she wasn't quite sure. Rey knew that he understood her question, but she didn't repeat or elaborated it.

"Say it. How could I do what?" He echoed himself, finally breaking her.

Rey felt the tears she had been holding in fall from her eyes in an unceremonious fashion, her voice hiccuping when she finally restated her question more thoroughly.

"How... how could you kill your opponents without second thought or remorse?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Rey."

"I'm not like you!" Rey refuted. "I regretted my action after every fight. How can you go on killing other without feeling pain? What made you into a monster?"

"It's all about perspective. You thought you were saving them from a tortured death, I'm saving them from a tortured life." Rey blinked as him, at a loss for words and slightly astonished by his words. Kylo, seeing her confusion and surprise, reiterated himself. "Surely you must feel it, we all do. A desire for death, to be put out of our misery, but at the same time a fear of death and a dim hope for liberation that will never come."

Rey became quiet for a moment.

"You don't know that."

"Be serious Rey, no one is coming for any of us. We're never leaving this life unless through death."

"Then why didn't you _'liberate'_ me?" She then spat, searching for some reason to hold onto her hatred. If he truly was just trying to free other slaves from their torture by ending their misery, then why hadn't done the same to her?

Kylo, however, refused to reply, and continued on to act like she never asked. He stood from his chair and made his way for the door, abruptly cutting off their conversation. Although, before he left, he turned back to her and said. "Reconsider what it is you have here. This is the closest you'll ever have to a peaceful life as a slave."

"So you admit you're a slave too?" She challenged. A wry smile that didn't meet his eyes spread onto his face at her words.

"More like a prisoner."

With those last words said, Kylo opened the door and walked out, his black cape fluttering behind him was the last thing she saw before she was left alone; the sound of the closing door echoing through the large room.

Rey didn't stay in her place for long, not wanting to be confined the bed, so she stood up, reached a hand into her pillow case, and pulled out the bread knife she had swiped. Moving over to the large window curtains Rey started on the furthest end that was the most out of sight as to not fall under suspicion. Seating herself down on her legs she fell into the mundane routine she had recently picked up every evening of ever so slowly cutting a line out of the horizontal bottom. The process was extremely tedious since butter knives were not sharp and had a rounded point that would not allow her to cut easily. It took no time at all, happening almost immediately, that Rey thought back to her conversation with Kylo Ren.

His claim to kill to liberate didn't seem to fit right with his character. Everything about him pointed in the other direction, it made no sense to her that a creature like him would have any soul for others. Even if he did, his mindset was most certainly not that of a righteous liberator. What he was doing was not liberation, it was murder, the only thing he was saving was his reputation.

Rey felt her thoughts shift to Ivano for the first time in a while.

When she watched Kylo behead Ivano, there was no salvation in what she saw. The way Kylo heavily brought down the sword with much force spoke nothing to someone who thought themselves as a savior. She could see the anger and aggression in Kylo's eyes the entire fight from her spot behind the gates in the tunnel. Rey even took note to how he seemed to relax once he killed Ivano, like he was happy he was gone.

He was not a liberator, freedom through death was not his goal; if it was then why didn't he kill Rey, or himself for that matter? He himself said that he wasn't not a slave, but a prisoner, as if he was allowed limited will. Kylo then _chose_ to kill those people, it was his own decision, not because his status called for it.

Then what goal could he possibly have in doing what he does? Is it only to fuel his madness? Is he truly a monster after all?

At that, Rey's memory then brought her back to her own fight with Kylo, and their meetings before and afterwards.

Kylo never seemed to go too far when he was with her, almost as if she were a delicate rose that he was holding in his hands; being gentle in order to protect the petals, while being cautious of the thorns at the same time. Could there possibly be another side to Kylo that she has failed to recognize in him yet, or was she being over speculative? Rey hasn't spent enough time around him to tell, he always appears to be so cold to those around him, constantly wearing a mask of indifference. It was only in rare occurrences between the two of them that she was able to see something that seemed more humane. Yet she still couldn't decipher what he's thinking or feeling. At times, oh so scarce those times were, he looked lost, and maybe a little scared.

Perhaps he didn't fully believe in what he was doing either. Maybe he was blinding himself with the idea that he was right to try to help live with the guilt. Like she was.

But Rey thought back again to Ivano, and all sympathy she could have possibly felt dissipated in an instance. Someone so close to her, who had treated her like a little sister, the only family she had ever known; his life was ended horribly at the hands of the man who now kept her prisoner in this luscious cage. Any fighter with a sense of honor or heart would let two comrades fall together so one would not have to live in agony over the other, but no, he let that happen.

Her inner thoughts told her that she may have very well done the same thing to one or more of her opponents unknowingly, but she pushed those thoughts down.

If Kylo though that he was her saving grace then he is deadly mistaken. Simply because she was put into the hands of a more wealthy and more privileged master did not mean that she was granted freedom, she was still less than a prisoner, less than a human.

A slave who let themselves be consumed and clouded by pretty surrounding and a comfy bed, ignoring the bars on the window and the locks on the doors, was a delusional child who could not face the fact that they had no free will.

That's was he was, Rey finally concluded as she finished up a foot long length of rope-her hands bruised and calloused from the strain of force in which she held the handle to cut. Kylo was a coward, too afraid of his surroundings to acknowledge them, and too afraid of himself to see the blood trailing behind him.

Rey wasn't like him, she was different. She knew what she was, and she was scared of what she had become, but embraced it in order to find some sort of ground beneath her feet. She killed for twisted morals, but it were those twisted morals that kept her floating in her ocean of despair.

Although they killed for similar reasons, their opinions differed. Kylo thought that this was the only way for them to find freedom, she believed it was the only way to find peace.

Can't receive what was never yours. In this world, slave or not, you're never truly free.

A knock on the door and the sound of Mashra's voice then notified Rey that Mashra had arrived with her dinner. Rey quickly moved an armchair over to hide her work, and swiftly hid the knife under the cushion.

"Come in." Rey replied and made her way over to the small dining table. Mashra was let in by the guard, and their nightly routine commenced.

...

Kylo was sitting by his lonesome when he was summoned by Snoke's messenger. He wasted away his time sitting by the fireplace, watching how the colorful flames seemed to dance around in their place, his mind wandering to another spitfire who perpetually clouded his thoughts.

When he had walked in to the training room earlier that day, he was awestruck for a multitude of reasons, dozens of thoughts reaching him when he saw Rey in her disheveled state. Looking at her relentlessly pound on Phasma was a sight to behold in its own right, but once he got a glance of the brokenness she felt in that moment, something came over him and he rushed to her side, the need to protect her rushing through his veins.

Kylo knew she was stubborn by nature, it was one of her qualities that both irked and intrigued him. But he also knew that it was that one quality that still held her together. Too stubborn to let go of hope, and too stubborn to recognize what she really is. Just like him.

After years and years of it being just him, surrounded by servants who loathed him for his privilege and workers like Hux who despised him for his title despite what he was, there was someone else. Kylo felt so alone before, no one else was like him; until he met Rey. Someone else who was above the other fighters and servants, but still treated like trash, haunted by her life as he was. Despite her obvious hatred for him, Kylo began to feel a bond with her.

However she wasn't as broken as him, ignorantly clouded in denial; Kylo wanted to break her furthur, so he won't feel so alone anymore.

But… when he saw her shattered and destroyed when he walked in, he didn't want that for her, he wanted her to keep her childish hope and not become a monster like him.

Not what Snoke made him into.

Arriving at the door to Snoke's throne-room like, giant office, the two guards nodded at him and allowed entry. Kylo walked in and took a knee before his master.

"You summoned me, my master?"

"Yes." Snoke responded and turned to face him in his tall chair, previously facing away and staring out the window. "I heard Phasma has been sent to the medical unit due to injuries sustained by her student- the girl -Rey.

"That is correct." Kylo said.

"How unfortunate to have my captain and head trainer out of commission. I do believe I ordered to have _you_ teach her." Snoke said, his voice getting more menacing with every word, his figure slowly sneaking towards Kylo. "Now because of your insubordination she has been allowed to train under someone inferior to her, and has consequently sent them to the medics."

"She refused my teaching."

"You've grown soft!" Snoke howled at him. "How can a teacher lead a student if they do not establish themselves as the superior? Your lack of conviction is what has caused this."

Kylo felt himself shrink down inside, but forced himself to remain outwardly impassive.

"Master, I do not see the point in training her any further, she has already proved-"

Snoke slapped him across the face, Kylo fell back by the force of the strike across his cheek.

"You _are_ becoming soft, and a coward." Snoke seethed in a growl. "You saw yourself her lack of technique and rough moves. She lost to you which means she has much to learn, and only the one who bested her can do that." Snoke made his way back to his seat. "Unless you want _me_ to teacher her as I taught you."

Cold fear spread through Kylo's body at those words. Knowing what it meant. If Rey is taught by Snoke then she'll certainly lose herself completely to insanity, as he did.

"I will teach her!" Kylo told his master, trying- but failing -not to sound desperate.

Smoked smirked at him.

"Good, go. Don't disobey me again, one more slip up and you're going back to the chair." The older deformed man said threateningly.

Kylo bowed and got up, turning his back to leave his master's quarters, missing the cruel grin Snoke was sending his way.

Back in his own room, Kylo was left once again to unwanted solitude, something he always loathed. The silence only served to remind him of his circumstances, a prisoner. Years ago he learned to play the part of a confident fighter who's only goal was to bring glory to his master, but that wasn't so. All he felt was hatred for his master, contempt and insecurity. But most of all, fear. His master had the power to throw him away, so he made himself indispensable out of instinct to survive.

His thoughts once again trailed back to Rey.

She didn't know this, unaware of just exactly what Snoke was capable of. Her reckless and stubborn insubordination could very well have her sent through the horrors he was subjected to, mentally and physically.

Yet, he knew that she wasn't being reckless against Snoke, he saw for himself how subjected she was to her former master, Unklar Plutt. Rey was refusing _him_ , and so refusing Snoke. So far Snoke has put the blame for her doing so solely on him, which protected her from his wrath, but Kylo didn't know how long it would last. He needed to make sure Rey didn't become a victim of Snoke's abuse, even if it meant he took the beatings.

A knock and the announcement of the arrival of Mashra pulled Kylo away from his previous dreadful thoughts. He signaled for her to come in. She did and only took a few steps in, keeping her distance from him.

"Report." He commanded from his armchair by the fireplace, not bothering to face her to listen.

"Lady Rey is struggling to get a grasp on what transpired earlier today, she's become shaken." The lower level slave told him, her voice showing no sympathy. "She stayed away from the topic, but I could see it's effect."

"Anything else?"

"Lady Rey mentioned you quite a bit." Marsha responded, catching Ren's attention. "She appeared to be especially annoyed today."

Kylo hadn't expected much, he was well aware that Rey did not hold a good impression of him, but he still felt a small sting of disappointment.

"Very well, is that all?"

"She is coming far in her mathematics, but she is still having troubles with her literacy, and I'm afraid that I am not educated enough to keep teaching her."

Kylo thought this over, dismissing Mashra. She had refused him before, but now he could no longer offer her the freedom of choice. It was time for both of them to realize the invisible chains bounding them.

Neither of them had the liberty to decide their fate.

That's what made them so similar.

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In this chapter we look at how conflicted Rey is. Right now she's at the border of falling apart, but in order to hold onto that crumbling ledge she searches for logic (no matter how wrong) wherever she can find it. She begins to see a small likeness between herself and Kylo, but she refuses to acknowledge it, for fear she's become a monster as well. Yet at the same time she already knows that she's a monster, but is still heavily in denial.

Hope y'all liked the chapter, I. Am. SO SORRY! This took so much longer to get out then I thought it would be. I'll try not to go over a month next time!

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	7. Her Shield

Four days had passed since his master had given him the order to let no one else but him train the girl Rey of Jakku, and nothing had been accomplished in that time. The girl stubbornly denied his teaching and refused to leave her room when she was informed that he would be her knew trainer. After two days of her being hold up in her room, Kylo then compromised by having her train with the guards under his supervision. Kylo could see her obvious hesitance to agree, but was eventually able to persuade her with the promise that he would not directly interfere, only give critiques.

Things seemed to be going well for the next three days. Kylo would watch from the side and correct Rey whenever she made a wrong move, and when she was knocked down he would tell her what she did wrong and show her what to do instead if she was in that situation again. She listened in contempt, not wanting to listen and sometime flat out ignoring his instructions; but when she did the same thing as she did before and it failed once or twice again she would switch to his method and find pleasing results. So by the third day she would do as he said right away though Kylo noted the anger in her face when she had to do so. It was clear that Rey preferred to do things her way and rely on herself rather than take advice from someone else, especially him.

Within those five days barely anything changed besides the fact that she listened to his tips more. Every time he offered to teach her new and more advanced techniques she would say the same thing, "I don't want to murder others."

Kylo tried to explain what exactly she'd be learning, that it would render them unconscious or numb so the opponent would not feel pain; but she continued to call him a killer. The hypocrisy was plain as day in her words, but he said nothing up to now, letting her live her fantasy to let her sleep better at night.

On the fifth day after their training session had ended and he headed to the baths to clean up and relax, he was summoned.

Kylo knew that wasn't good. He was hoping that Snoke would wait until after the match this weekend to call upon him, but it seems that wasn't the case. Hope. Kylo knew he shouldn't have believed in something as futile as that.

Kylo was escorted to Snoke's headroom by one of his master's personal guards, accompanied by two of his own guards; this could only mean one thing: he was going to get punished.

It had been nearly three months since he last time this had happened. Kylo had performed badly that day and received a sprained ankle from his opponent, Snoke was furious about being humiliated in front of his colleagues and made sure Kylo remembered not to fail again; he didn't.

Kylo had a good idea about what has made his master so crossed with him and he knew that nothing he could possibly say could stop what was due for him; but the innocent child within him could not help but hold onto hope despite him knowing there was nothing to hope for.

The walk there was painstakingly quiet, the guards before him serious and condemning, and the guards behind him nervous and confused. Only his master's private guards knew what happened to those who were punished by Snoke, and they were under orders not to disclose that information to anyone else. So on the rare occasion that Kylo was called for acting out of line, the guards knew nothing except the fact that their superior would come out bloodied and often times limping. The sight of the aftermath alone was enough for complete obedience with no questions asked. Only he, Phasma, and a former personal guard had been put under Snoke's torture. That's one reason why he has found himself closer to Phasma and more trusting of her than anyone else.

Kylo stood outside the door waiting as a guard announced his presence and he was allowed passage. Once he crept in he knelt down before Snoke, submitting before things got worse. He said nothing, and neither did Snoke. Out of nowhere he was suddenly grabbed by two guards from behind and pulled to his feet and forced over into the electric chair. He wanted to fight back, but knew that such an action would only worsen his punishment, so he did nothing to prevent them from pushing him down and strapping him down. One of the guards pulled out a syringe and stuck it into his neck directly into a vein. Kylo gritted his teeth as they pumped him with copper. Next they shoved a bottle of water down his throat and took of his boots, putting his legs and feet into a tub of water. A metal helmet was strapped onto his head, his shirt was opened and wires were connected to his chest, temples, and wrists.

Kylo tried to force down the fear that was swelling up inside him, but he failed as he felt his hands begin to sweat, his skin visibly becoming paler.

As the guards moved onto the machine, Snoke slithered over to him menacingly. Stopping before him he reached out a hand and caressed Kylo's face in a terrifying manner.

"Nearly two weeks… of that girl being here and you've already gone soft." His master spat in his face.

"I haven't gone soft." Kylo denied, but instantly regretted it when he was grabbed by the hair and had is skull slammed into the metal chair he was sitting on, leaving dizzy and his vision shaky.

"If that was the case then you wouldn't be in that chair." Snoke hissed with thick venom lacing his words. "I gave you orders, and you refused. Now I must remind you of your place." With that he stepped away and gave the signal for his guards to start the machine.

At first the electric current was set to setting one- 300 volts -and was immediately able to get a few shouts and grunts of discomfort out of him. Soon the setting was turned up to 350 volts and his reaction followed as well. Kylo attempted desperately to hold back his screams and instead bit down on his lip, digging so deep that he began to draw blood. However he was too distracted by the pain of the machine to notice that blood was dripping down his chin. Three, to four, to five the voltage kept on increasing by fifties until he was at 600 volts. At this point he could not hold back his howls of agony.

Burns began to surface on his body and sting his skin. The insides of his body felt as if they were being burned to a crisp on top of a grill shoveled full of coal covered in oil and set on blazing fire. Kylo jolted around in his seat, squirming relentlessly in pain.

The voltage was lowered to 100V and he was left there for a while, recovering from his past pain while still going through more at a smaller dose. After a while the voltage was turned up slowly again to 650V, but for a shorter amount of time. When the shock was turned down again for the third time, Snoke slipped his way back in front of him, his sadistic grin shadowing his expression.

"Three days until the next tournament." He uttered in a grueling voice. "If she does not come out victorious, I'll encourage the opponent to put her to death, no… I'll ***enforce it.

Even with the electricity coursing through him, Kylo could feel his blood pressure rise at his words, and an unfamiliar feeling, close to fear, started to fester in his gut.

Once Snoke left him once again to his torture the setting was turned up and endowed him with more excruciating trauma. This continued for hours until he was eventually left at 800V writhing in his suffering until, finally, his body had enough, and he passed out.

When he came to he was no longer hooked up to the machine and instead inside the ER, a medical droid tending to his surface wounds. His master was nowhere in sight, and that fact brought some slight peace to his troubled mind, as there was no one there to see him cry.

You're a coward. You fool. This is your entire fault.

Kylo despised himself for allowing him to be weakened without the will to do anything at all to try and help himself. But what could he possibly do? Could he simply just say no and walk away? No, he couldn't. Kylo had no choice in the matter, his free spirit had long since been crushed, and his master had full dominion over him.

Yet Kylo still loathed every essence of his entire being for becoming this way, for turning a scared child, hidden by a monster.

Kylo scratched up his arms, despite the fact that they were covered in blisters and burns. His skin broke and blood seeped out and damped his sleeves, but could not be deciphered from his black shirt. The medical droid besides him went haywire trying to stop him and fix the damage, but he merely shoved it away, needing to make up for his mistakes, needing to feel this pain, wanting to feel ***something.

He stopped finally when the blood had seeped through enough to make the cloth wet. Then he let the droid patch him up again. Finally, the last thing he did before he left to head back to his own room was take painkillers to numb his body. He overdosed slightly, but didn't mind, only taking two more than what was recommended. Kylo wanted nothing more than to shut of all of his senses, and sleep.

Stumbling sluggishly through the halls he could see that it was twilight, meaning he had been out for at least three hours.

He had missed dinner, but felt no appetite anyways. Kylo scarcely noticed his guards standing outside of the infirmary, following his as he walked out. They served as a reminder, that despite all of his privilege, he is still less than nothing. They are the embodiment of his enslavement, the human form of his chains. Even if Kylo could easily knock them out in an instant, there were more links that held his chain to the ball.

Yet, he had command over them, he held power. In a world were freedom does not exist, Kylo has been given reign over someone who was considered less than him. So he held onto that, ordered them around every day, demanded of them what was demanded from him. That is the only way he has retained any level of sanity in this place. He may be on the edge, but he was still footed on the ground.

And that was all that he had.

However…

The girl, Rey…

She just might be the one that knocks him over that edge.

Before her, Kylo was content with living as he was; in fact, he had grown used to it. He no longer saw himself as a slave as he once did all those years ago, but rather at a right hand man to Snoke, his confidant and second in command. Even when he was occasionally punished, it was never as bad as what he had just gone through, not for some years. So when it would happen, he simply saw it as a reasonable excessive smack on the hands to put him back in his place.

But when he was taken to the Jakku underground fighting ring and saw a slave cleaning up the training room where he had been sent to sharpen his skills, he found himself taken by the mystique of her. Countless times he has gone up against fighters who doubled as servants, but never before had that slave fighter been as notorious as her. Prior to arriving he had heard that the champion of Jakku, who had never lost a fight since she was eleven. She was known as The Scavenger to other ring fighters due to her inventive use of the things around her to come out on top, though it seemed like even she was unaware of this title. But another reason she was known was that no one who had ever faced her had ever lived to tell the tale, so no one knew what she looked like or what to expect; another note was that her master refused to take her to other rings and instead had other fighters come to her.

When he had arrived Kylo looked around for this girl, eager to size up his opponent, but the only home fighters he could find were two males; until he saw he cleaning the floors. Immediately he knew that it was her. She may have appeared small and scrawny, but Kylo could see the tone muscles of one who has experienced strenuous combat, and the eyes of slave. Kylo asked her if he would fight her, silently hoping that it wouldn't be so, but she neither confirmed it nor denied it. Kylo then began to dread when he would have to face her, something inside him begged him not to fight her, because, for whatever reason, he did not want to be her killer.

He had met her several times after that, but on the day of their match, when they were both practicing with the same punching bag, their eyes connected, he felt a shock go through him. He saw his past self in her, and he was brought back to the time when he had felt small, furious… and hopeful. It was almost as if he was looking at the ghost of his childhood. There was something about her that made him want to protect her, to save him from the grief that he has gone through.

For the past fourteen years, since he was sixteen, he has lived this forsaken life. The fire in him had died long ago. But this girl had been like this for almost just as long, even if she became a fighter later, she had been a slave all her life, yet somehow managed to hold onto a hope that wasn't there. Even so, he could see that she was slipping, fight after fight she was slowly breaking. A trail of blood followed her wherever she went, her hands were stained like his, and she was deluded with false justice, like him. The only difference was that she would not accept her loss of mind, something was keeping her sane, but she was losing that something. While his edge was made of stone, hers was that of sand, shifty and unsound. If she doesn't come to terms with what she's become, or find something else to hold onto, then he knows that it will destroy her, as it did him.

So, after he had triumphed in their fight, he did the one thing he could think of to save her from that destruction; take her under his wing and train her to become stronger.

Kylo knew that she would resent him for it, especially after he killed her ring mate, but he had to get her out of there. There was just one problem: Snoke.

Kylo may have seen the physical and mental abuse she went through under Unklar Plutt, but that was nothing compared to what Snoke was capable of. His master was as conniving as a snake, deceitful and venomous. If she was subjected to his abuse then he knew that she would be gone completely. That's why, just before he asked his master to take her in, Kylo had decided to be her shield. He would allow her to take her time to adjust and reestablish herself while she was here, and in turn, he would take on the fault for any of her mistakes, and face the beating so she wouldn't have to.

However, she was progressing slowly, and Snoke was becoming more and more irksome. Now the next match was in two days and he has made little ground with her. Snoke threatened him with her life on the line, knowing that he was becoming soft for her. If Kylo knew Snoke like he thought he did, then Rey was now yet another tool for his master to take advantage of him, which did not bode well for the future.

Despite all that, Kylo could no longer allow Rey to adjust, he needed her to obey his orders and train under him if she is to survive here. She may hate him, but that doesn't matter for now. She simply needs to learn.

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Sorta short, but that's because it's all pretty much dialogue. Sorry if the electric shock part made any of you uncomfortable, I did say there would be violence and gore.

Am I coming across clear with the characters? I feel like I'm vague in explaining what their going through. Anyways, thanks for reading! See y'all next time!

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	8. Dance

Rey was brought into the training gym first thing in the morning, not having the large breakfast she usually received ever since she arrived here, instead only receiving a banana, oats, and milk. She wasn't entirely bothered by this, being previously familiar with getting small meals. But he couldn't help but sigh as she thought about all the food she could've had in her stomach right now. In spite of her contempt for this place and its inhabitants, she was rather pleased with all the food she had been filling herself with. That was most likely the only thing she would miss about this place, once she was out she'd be on the streets, feeding off scraps again until she made it back to Jakku and found her parents.

For as long as she could remember Rey had imagined what their reunion would be like. She would walk through a crowd of people, asking each if they had seen two adults who looked like her, finding no luck until she would hear voices, a man's and a woman's, sweet and gentle, asking around if anyone had seen their lost child. She'd run over to them and find a tall man with dark brown hair and chocolate eyes, with a woman with lighter brown hair and grey eyes. They'd see her and would instantly know that she was the child they had lost long ago. They'd take her in their arms and rejoice, bringing her into their hut and through a feast to celebrate. They'd all be together, and be happy forever.

Rey had first imagined this scenario when she was very young, before she became a fighter, and it had evolved into a wishful daydream that she would cling onto when ever despair threatened to consume her. Even now, in a strange city miles away from her hometown, where her parents were still searching, Rey would still tell herself what would happen when she was free. If she was ever free.

Rey looked back to her curtains as her guard led her away to the training room, closing the door behind him, and smiled slightly. Soon, only a few feet left, she would be.

Arriving at the gym she noticed that none of the training guards were there like always, instead there was only one man, Kylo Ren. Rey was surprised, but not caught off guard, unpleased, but curious as to why he was there. Walking out on her way to take her bath, with Mashra in tow, she had seen the man being carried on a gurney to the medical until. He was out like a light and deathly pale to boot. Rey had noticed slight burns on his neck and chin, and wondered just how many more there were under his thick clothes. Worry and fear began to settle in from anxiety of how this had happened. Master Snoke was the only one above Kylo in power, so it could only be he who did this. Was he sadistic, or just angered with Kylo? Could she be next if she didn't watch her step?

Rey quickly capped her thoughts before they could get out of hand and moved on with her bath. Even so, she could not stop the thoughts that plagued her with curiosity. What could he have done that angered the master so much as to take such violent actions? When Rey had first met Snoke when her previous owner introduced her as his best fighter he had claimed that he took good care of his fighters so they could fight at an optimum level. What had happened seemed to be the exact opposite of his words.

The train of thought ended there though, as Rey was hastily snapped back into her present situation when Slip pushed her inside and closed the door behind him, keeping guard over the exit. Now it was just him, his guards, her guard, and her in the room.

The air was so thick and tense that it couldn't be cut with a simple butter knife, a meat cleaver would be more appropriate.

"What is going on?" She snapped first, no longer being able to act like nothing was amiss.

"Today we'll take your training a step further." Kylo announced and threw her a wrap of cloth to cover her knuckled, his fist already covered and prepared. Rey gingerly wrapped her knuckles, still suspicious as to what was going on.

"I thought I said I didn't want to learn from you." She stated blandly.

"Things have changed. I'm afraid I have to revoke that liberty." He responded and removed hic cloak and jacket, handing them to one of his three guards.

"As if that was a liberty." Rey muttered under her breath, refusing to prepare any further than her clothed fists. "I'm not going to fight you." She declared.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He said coldly.

Rey was about to ask what he meant by that when her face was nearly acquainted with a fist barreling as lightning fast speeds. She had her naturally swift reflexes to that for how she was able to narrowly dodge the attack.

"What the-" Rey barely breathed out before she was bombarded with a series of punches. She was able to deflect and dodge the attacks fairly for a while before she began to become overwhelmed. Having not been warmed up before the fight and not having a real challenge for a while, Rey began to tire and become panicked. Maybe about five minutes passed with her simply dodging, never finding a chance to take the offence, before Kylo was able to land a solid blow to her gut. Rey felt all of the air in her lungs instantaneously leave her as she fell to the ground and was slammed to the ground on her back.

Her vision blurred and her heart pounded in her ears as she lay panting on the floor. Kylo stood above her, barely breaking a sweat.

"What the kriff was that?" She cursed him, not moving from her spot on the ground.

"Reflex practice." He responded before aiming a heavy kick her way.

Rolling out of the way with great haste, Rey hopped to her feet just in time to avoid a kick going for her head. Bringing her head down her avoided the attack, jumping back when Kylo followed through his roundhouse with another of the opposite leg. Tired of being showed up Rey attempted to take the offensive, aiming a kick of her own for his right ribs; however her leg was caught by him with ease. She tried to pull away, but failed to match his strength. Lifting her up from the ground Kylo set her flying to the other side of the room, where she brutally met the ground in a hard fall.

"Come on Rey, if you can't manage to gain the upper hand in a fight you'll be slaughtered in the ring." Kylo shouted at her while she picked herself up from the ground.

"I know that!" She hissed and charged for him.

This time Rey aimed a right hook for his jaw, but was caught off guard when not only did he deflect her move with his arm, but also latched his grasp around her wrist and propelled her forward towards, simultaneously aiming a fist for her face. Rey was able to shift her head to the side, avoiding his fist by a hairs length, getting lightly scrapped. Instead she was slammed into his chest, making him stumble a foot back, but not knocking him over. Still having her arm in his hold, Rey did the only thing she could think of. Crouching down she launched herself upwards and head butted Kylo under his chin.

The shock was enough to get him to release her for a split second, allowing her to back away before trying again to gain the offense. Going low, Rey swept her leg under him to knock him to the ground. However she didn't apply enough force and was only able to leave a bruise, unable to make him budge an inch. Kicking her protruded leg, Kylo knocked her off balance to where she was on the ground lying on her belly. Before she could stand he was on top of her, holding her down with her arms behind her back. Kylo was far too heavy for her to push him off and far too strong for her to break free.

Overtime her struggling became less frantic as she wore herself thin. After a few minutes she was lying nearly still under him, her breath labored, and her muscles sore.

She tapped out.

Kylo stood up from her and took a step back, watching as she flipped her body over, but made no further move to stand.

"If this was the ring, you would be dead now." He scolded her with a fierce gaze, a gaze not of fury, but of passion. "And soon it will be. Your first match here will be in two days, and the master does _not_ forgive failure."

Rey didn't look at him; rather keeping her eyes locked on the ceiling, but soaked in every word. She was faced with death once again, forced to fight to simply stay alive at the will of the fat pigs who sat in the stands. She thought back to her previous fights under Unklar Plutt, and how she was forced to feed, cloth, and keep warm those who got off on her suffering and the deaths of others. All those fights where she would either win within seconds, or strive for nearly an hour to avoid death's clutches, only then to take the life of those she did not want to battle.

 _All for the pleasure of the disgusting vermin she dreamed of burning._

Rey was done. She didn't want this anymore.

"I'm not going to fight." She murmured.

"What?" Kylo questioned in a near growl, clearly caught off guard and unprepared. The guards around the room also appeared surprised by her declaration, and shifted awkwardly on their feet.

"I'm not going to play their game, I'd rather die."

"Then why haven't you done so before?"

Kylo's inquiry brought back her daydream to her mind. The image of her being happy with her family, as if she had never left. The dream of being free from bondage like she was never in it.

That dream was slowly fading away.

And it terrified her.

She would never admit it, not out loud, not to herself, but she knew. She _knew_ the truth; she had for quite some time, years in fact. But it was all she had left of herself, without the daydream she was nothing. If she were to allow herself to confess the truth then she'd surely die. If not physically then mentally, she'd snap and become something she could never come back from.

So she let herself dream again. She pictured their rejoicing faces, imagined the warmth of their embrace, and let herself be tricked with hopes that she knew were simply a fraud.

"It's none of your business." Rey said flatly as she stood from the ground, staring down the man in front of her with a renewed look of determination. "I'll keep fighting."

Once they started again it was no longer blind fighting, instead Kylo pinpointed every, mistake she had made in their fight, and focused on what she needed to change. He taught her what to do when an opponent came in close enough range and aimed a punch for her. Exactly as he had done on her, Kylo showed Rey how to latch onto their wrist as it went by and pull them towards her, using their already propelling velocity to catch them off guard, while, still holding them by the arm, and delivering a punch of her own. It was the classic technique of turning an enemy's strength against them in a new and innovative way that proved to be more effective.

He then showed her what to do if her enemy responded like she did. If they managed to dodge, turn the punch into a choke hold and bring them to the ground, wrapping her legs around their waist and holding on with a tight grip until they either gave up or passed out.

Rey asked what to do if they tried to deliver a head butt like she, an almost sly grin on her face as she did so.

Ignoring her grin he then instructed her to do one of either two things: back out of the way while still holding onto them, or spin them out and back, holding on tight to conscript them.

As Kylo taught her these things he would give demonstrations, working with her to show her how it was done. He let her practice the moves on him until she was able to get the hang of them. If she didn't know any better she'd think they were almost dancing, especially with the spin out move, which he advised her only to do with opponents of equal or shorter highest. Their bodies move in sync with each other as they continued to practice. It reminded her of the time they were practicing in on same punching bag back in the undergrounds of Jakku. Their eyes were locked, focused only on each other, like there was no one else in existence, and they were alone performing their eternal dance, balancing each other out.

In this moment, where Kylo was showing her how to properly react when your kick is caught, she felt… tranquil. She felt no anger, no fear, and no pain. The cry of her aching muscles was nothing but an insignificant hum amidst a much grander sky.

"Are you ready to try it?" Kylo inquired, stopping his example and turning to her.

"Huh?" Rey snapped out of her derailing train of thought at his question.

"Are you ready to try the move?" He echoed himself, an almost amused glint in his eyes.

Rey nodded and stepped in front of him. She hadn't been listening, but she had been watching, she was positive she'd be able to perform it correctly.

She sent a kick for his ribs, he caught it, and just as she saw him do, she jumped up on her grounded foot. He caught that one as well and she flung her body backwards, twisting herself as if she was on a swing, and rose herself up again until she was up and above him. Suffocating her face in her thighs she used her momentum to swing his body to the side, knocking him to the ground. Now being a little innovative she slid down to Kylo's chest, holding his arms down with her feet, and chocked him; clutching his throat in her left hand, and covering his mouth with the other.

The guards on the side became panicked and almost ran over to remove Rey from him, but stopped when they saw his grin. Kylo was clearly enjoying himself.

Aiming a kick at her back, Kylo used his long legs to knock her off, successfully using enough force to get her off. Rolling off Rey immediately got up and went into a fighting stance, but relaxed when she saw that Kylo was taking his sweet time getting up.

It truly was a simple dance to them.

"Good, good." He praised her when he reached his feet. "But you should always be wary of the length and reach of your opponent's limbs. If you would have brought me in a back hold I wouldn't have been able to remove you."

"But you could have lifted up your weight and slammed me against the ground." Rey denied.

"That is why you would have wanted to wrap your legs tightly around my waist and leg, so I wouldn't be able to lift myself up to do so."

Rey nodded in understanding. Trying again to perform and carry out the move.

Practice went on for thirty more minutes until it was time to call it quits. Kylo and Rey didn't say goodbye to each other and simply went their own ways. Rey went to take a bath and relax in the tub until lunch, something she had begun enjoying. When she arrived back in her room, escorted by her guard Slip, Mashra was waiting for her with her lunch.

Walking in and seeing the fellow slave, looking malnourished and tired, obliterated her strangely peaceful mind in an instant. Within a second Rey was reminded of who she was. She was a slave as well who was treated better than the rest because she could fight. But she would never let herself believe herself to be better. Only one slave thought of himself as something different, and she was not him, she never would be.

Rey would never become like Kylo Ren.

But she felt herself slipping.

"How was training today?" Mashra asked her sweetly as she set her plate out for her.

"Not too bad." Rey responded and sat down in her usual chair. As always she split the meal in half, giving Mashra an equal amount of food, and a little extra to take to the others.

Rey always enjoyed spending time with Mashra, she truly thought of her as a friend. Rey inwardly wondered if she could break her out as well when she finally made her escape.

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It has been a while huh? Well finals just began and I'm now recovering from a cold. I probably won't be delivering any new chapters for quite a while more. Gotta study and remain sane. Hope y'all liked the chapter, I'm really trying to take time to slowly develop Rey's character, but I consciously scared that I'm moving too fast. Am I doing alright? Please leave any comments you have, I love hearing your thought. Until later, hope y'all stay updated.

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	9. Killer

The area was quite and desolate, a small draft of air flowed through in through the chimney and underneath the doorway. The only sounds that could be heard were the awaking servant slaves from two floors below, preparing themselves for another day of forced labor, and the guards on all three levels of the building scurrying around on patrol. Normally, no ordinary person would be able to hear all these subtle noises, but Rey could; due t spending her entire life in the underground with poor lighting and limited smells other than earth, stone, and blood, Rey's hearing had been enhanced beyond normal restraints. The large rooms also provided an echo that practically shouted these sounds through the stone and metal walls. Though Rey was pretty sure most likely everyone here had accelerated hearing, since she was guessing none of the slaves ever left either.

But it was thanks to this ability that she was able to hear when it was time to end her project and either pretend to be sleeping, or go back to sleep. Rey's internal clock refused to let her sleep in past dawn, and over the weeks she found herself training less and less in the morning after waking up; training with Phasma or Kylo was more enough for her to handle each day.

With the announcement of the others waking up, Rey took that as her cue to hide her project and relax or sleep in her bed.

Looking down at the make shift rope she saw that barely any progress was made that night. Maybe two or four inches were cut. Pathetic for the amount of hours she spent on it. Rey couldn't help it though; tonight she kept finding herself distracted with thoughts of yesterday… and today. Yesterday was her last session with Kylo before she was sent back out into the ring after two weeks of being outside of it. Rey hadn't even _seen_ this building's ring before; she's only ever been in three rooms: her room, the training room, the bathroom. Kylo's room would technically make it four, but she hadn't been in there long, and that was against her will.

A spark went through her gut when she thought about waking up in his bed, covered in his velvet blankets. Rey quickly shook that image out of existence, a small feeling of disgust replacing it.

These were the thoughts that prevented Rey from getting any work done last night. No matter what she did her thoughts kept trailing back to the man who caused her many grievances. Oh how she loathed him, everything he stood for, his mentality. Yet, she could help but find some twisted solace in him as well. While there may be other slaves around her, they could never understand her like he could. But at the same time Rey doesn't _want_ him to understand her. He acts as if he's the teacher and she's the students in everything including and outside of fighting, as if he had all the answers for her heartache. Rey doesn't want those answers, not from someone so broken. But, then again, she too is broken.

Rey felt hatred for this man, but something else was beginning to rise up as well. Compassion. She attempted to throw it away, but she found that she could not entirely. Her only hope was that she could escape this inner fight by running away and getting out of her.

Fight.

That was the other subject that plagued her mind. She would have to fight today in the evening, she would once again be shoved into an arena with some poor luckless soul and set to either kill or be killed. This was standard practice for her by now; even so, she despised each and every fight. Rey would rather set the building ablaze and destroy those above her, taking herself with them.

Rey barely caught herself from her destructive thoughts, pulling herself back from her mind and returning to her, too, soft bed. Some nights the bed was pleasant, other days it wasn't. The marshmallow feeling was difficult to get used to after so many years of sleeping on a mat on the stone ground. Thus sometimes her bed proved to be more of a nuisance that a comfort.

Just as she had expected, she couldn't sleep, lying down with her eyes wide open staring up at the bed's over hanger. Settling down to listen to the kitchens being woken and worked, Rey desperately wished she could have been a servant slave. That is what she was originally, just a servant for the visitors and Plutt, even after she was chosen to be a fighter. Those days were the simple ones; if they could even be considered 'simple'. She loathed her work back then and hated the tireless hours and sore muscles and blisters, but none of that compared to what being a fighter forced her to be. Rey had lost count of how many times she had come close to losing her life in the ring. She lost count of how many bruises she had received. She had lost count of the broken bones, the cuts, the concussions. And most importantly, she had lost count of the blood that had stained her hands.

Young, old; meek, bold; new, experienced; man, woman; the list went on beyond what she cared to think about.

The thing about wounds is that they heal and no trace is left besides maybe a small scar. Stains, however, may wash away, but their mark will never leave her. She's too dirty.

Rey closed her eyes tight, she couldn't do this now, the anxiety of today was becoming too much to bear. Taking her pillow, Rey covered her mouth and nose with it, not letting up even when her lungs screamed in red pain. Five minutes passed until she was able to pass out, effectively sending her into a forced sleep. But her nightmares proved to be much worse.

Rey was shaken awake hours later, maybe two hours later depending on the shifting of the sunrays spilling into her room. Prying her eyes open, slightly grateful that she was pulled out of her horrid dream that she chose not to remember, and saw Mashra standing at the side of her bed.

"My Lady, I was sent to deliver your breakfast then escort you to the gym before your match." The older slave told her and took a step back to allow Rey to get up and out of bed.

"Okay…" Rey mumbled quietly, walking over to the usual table. Normally Rey would make sure to hold a longer conversation Mashra, as she was one of the few people that Rey was able to be around, but she couldn't today. She was much too anxious to socialize with her. Mashra seemed to sense this and didn't try to force conversation either, seeming happy to stay quiet as well.

Breakfast went slower than usual, even though there was no talking; everything just seemed to move at a snail's pace. It would take a couple minutes for Rey to finish three bites, not indulging in the tasteful food like she typically would. Instead the food tasted strangely bitter and flavorless on her sad tongue. She despised every bite, but forced it down knowing that she would need the strength.

Eventually Rey forced down her final bite, Mashra had finished hers a while ago, and stood to get ready. Currently dressed in a nightgown, Rey needed to find something lose and fitting to fight in, usually training in a simple white top with black shorts, her breast bound with bandages.

"Lady Rey, I was also sent to deliver your outfit to you." Mashra announced as she pulled out a small outfit from the bottom of the cart, handing them over to Rey. "You are required to wear them."

"Why? Did Kylo pick them out?"

"No, Master Snoke did."

Surprise rang through Rey at hearing that her Master, whom she's never talked to before, had sent her a fighting outfit. Before now Snoke had always just been a figure in the shadows. Someone she's been told about, but never confronted personally, ignoring the time Plutt bragged about her to him in the dining hall.

Walking over to the right corner of the room, where a changing screen was, Rey slipped out of her nightgown, and put on her new clothes. After she was done she looked at her reflection in a mirror, unsure whether to be impressed or crept out. It was Roman gladiator inspired, a small skirt that failed to reach her mid-thigh with shorts connected underneath. Her top was skin tight, but still allowed room to breathe and move, going over one shoulder leaving the other bare. Cloth and leather braces were provided that went on both arms from her wrists to her elbows, and her legs from her ankles to her knees. Rey acquired help from Mashra to tie the strings of the leather on her braces to secure them in place. The final touch was four pieces of cloth that she then wrapped around her fists and soles of her feet.

Overall, Rey looked like an ancient female warrior from her old picture book fairy tales. Simply she looked badass and she couldn't help but ogle how cool she looked. Though at the same time, she looked like a perfect doll, dressed up and given a status she didn't desire. The awe of her appearance quickly flew away and she wanted nothing more than to rip it all off and fight in her usual poor attire. She now looked like the pampered slave she had always loathed. Rey wanted to spit at herself.

"You look very elegant, My Lady." Mashra told her from behind, looking at Rey's reflection as well. Rey grimaced at her words, hating the word used to describe her appearance.

"No." Rey muttered. "I look like a killer."

Turning for the door, Rey went out and headed for the gym to prepare, Slip and Mashra trailing behind her silently.

Kylo was already there when she arrived, dressed similarly to her, but with shorts and in all black, contrary to her light grey and brown. He was currently doing a plank, so Rey decided to join him, but off to the side. She said nothing as she got down and lifted up her body, carried by only her arms and feet. Planks were a good way to start a warm up because they worked and heated up the muscles, making them easier to stretch.

Kylo must have not noticed her because he said nothing as they both did their planks. After a minute or so Rey began to feel a burn in her muscles, meaning she should move on to not tire herself out completely. However Kylo showed no signs of fatigue despite having been doing the plank longer than her. Stubbornness and will to not be shown up kept he from stopping, and after five minutes she began panting in stress.

"If you're tired you should stop." Kylo told her without looking up, his breath slightly labored, and showing that he too was becoming tired.

"Speak for yourself." Rey snapped back with a heavy gasp.

Rival fighters began to file in, all looking puzzled at, but avoiding the two fighters on the ground in their strange battle.

Rey was really straining herself now, panting hard as her body shook in exhaustion. Kylo's breath was heavy, but he wasn't panting, probably able to go on for much longer. Rey didn't think she could go another minute, but didn't want to throw in the towel just yet either. Right before she was about to collapse, Kylo dropped himself and sat back up, legs crossed. Letting out a victorious shout Rey let herself fall as well, rolling onto her back as she heaved heavy breaths. Both ignored the stares and glares of the others around them and focused only on each other. Strangely enough, Kylo refused to look anywhere else than her face.

"That was a foolish thing to do." Kylo scolded from above her.

"I still won didn't I?" She smirked even though she knew that wasn't the case. Kylo easily could have out lasted her, yet chose to stop early for some reason.

"So childish." Kylo rolled his eyes, though she could see humor in them, and stood from his spot. "Go and catch your breath on the side." He ordered her as he walked over to the weights.

Sitting up as well, Rey watched him go, wrenching her eyes away to go catch a breather and get a drink from the indoor water fountain in the corner, an absolute luxury that she never had before here. Once she rehydrated herself she allowed her body to relax for about two or three minutes before getting back up. Her body was still a little tired, but not as bad as before.

Positioning herself in the corner few feet from the wall, she began with stretches, one of her greatest advantages in the arena was her flexibility, which had saved her from troubling holds and enable her to dodge in unusual ways time after time. First Rey began with touching her toes, then the windmill, and then bended backwards and placed her hands on the ground behind her. Kicking her legs up, she did a summersault backwards and immediately went into a split. Swinging her legs around, she practiced her leg swipe before pushing herself back up onto her feet. Bringing her body down again, Rey preformed a handstand, her skirt falling down to reveal her shorts underneath; she then did push-ups like that, body in the air. If Rey wasn't so tired she could probably to one handed push-ups, she had to make sure she regained her stamina before her match.

"Rey." Kylo's cold and slightly forceful voice sounded besides her. Rey stopped and looked up over at the taller fighter. "Enough stretches, you need to practice your defense."

"My defense is fine." She argued, but let herself down nonetheless. By the time she stood up straight she barely had enough time to jump out of the way of Kylo's fist barreling for her face. "Seriously, what the kriff?" She shouted at him as he continued to attack her.

"You've gotten faster." He noted in a blank voice before he swung out a leg, catching her foot and bringing her down. "But your foot work is sloppy."

Rey stood again and, just as in their daily training, he gave her no time or warning before he attacked again. This time Rey was more aware of his movements, and more firm with hers. He tested everything, her reaction speed, her dodging, her counter attacks, and her offense, and stamina. Just as it always seemed to, the world fell away, leaving only them in their brutal dance. By now Rey was used to this feeling, like it was only the two of them in an eternal, empty void. It gave her a sense of ease and uneasiness at the same time. She felt them conflict, yet unite there. As if they were a dichotomy, forever linked, by what she didn't know; nor did she care to discover its origin.

Soon the fighters' pre-fight warm-up came to a conclusion and the fighters were sent into separate waiting rooms, so they wouldn't threaten or hurt each other before the match. Rey and Kylo were sent to the same room, since they wouldn't be fighting each other, and had the others' fights screened up for them on a hologram. Neither of them wanted to watch it though, and resolved to sit in separate parts of the room, no words exchanged. That was fine by her; she wouldn't know what to say.

Rey was positive that if she was in this same situation two weeks ago that she wouldn't hesitate to try and assassinate Kylo at that very moment. Yet she felt no such desire now. Rey no longer loathed this man, but she still had distaste for him. If he were to die she would probably only bat an eye, but she no longer desired to be his killer. She was compassionate or dispassionate towards him. If she were to give it a label she'd have to say that she was simply curious, but she didn't want that curiosity to land her into danger, so she shoved it down and ignored him.

He was only there to critique her fighting abilities; that was it.

A servant she had never seen before walked in and announced that her fight was next. The silence of the room became even deader, if that was even possible. No words were exchanged, they didn't even look at each other as she stood and walked towards the door. The sound of it slowly closing was like a bomb going off to her. Her eyes were nailed to ground as she was lead down the hall by the servant and two guards. A large metal, cage door stood before her, through it she could see a large stadium like room in front of her, seats stacked high with pompous spectators, and in the center of it all was a large caged arena. Rey was lead up, excited voices shouting her name like always, with a few boos thrown in as well. From the opposite side of her a man only an inch taller was lead in.

He was young, maybe around her age; wasn't too muscularly, nor was he too lean, most likely relied on tactic and stamina accompanied by powerful jabs. This meant that Rey would have to find a quick way to end the fight or it could go on for a while.

Oddly enough, the wondering thought of if Kylo was watching passed through her head. Rey let it pass and focused all of her attention on the nameless man before her.

The countdown was started, Rey offered a polite fist bump, and he took it. They circled each other until the countdown ended, and even after they still made no move. Rey could tell he preferred to counterattack, which is exactly her preference as well. This fight would be close indeed.

Rey decided to strike first, attempting a throat punch; he dodged and went for the gut. Rey maneuvered herself in a twist and managed to wrap an arm around his throat and wrap her body around his back. The man tried to knock her off, but failed. Aiming a pointed elbow into her right side he delivered numerous painful hits until Rey loosened her grip just enough to rip her arms off his neck. Her legs were still wrapped around his stomach however, so did her best to restrain her from getting up as she fought to restrain his arms.

The man then surprised her by shifting the position on her so he was on top facing her. Wrapping his hands around her neck he turned the tables and suffocated her. But he made a mistake by not restraining her legs. Taking full advantage of her flexibility, Rey brought her legs up on either side of his head and pushed it at an unholy angle. He stopped chocking her to spread her legs apart to release his head from their grip. Rey used this chance to push herself up and slam her head into his chin. He fell back with a thud and she was on top in a second and a half. Rey made sure to restrain his legs but wasn't able to restrain his arms before he sent a fist into her shoulder, dislocating it.

'Shit!' Rey cursed in her head as she got up on her feet the same time he did. Now she _really_ needed to end it fast. The man threw three quick jabs towards her head, the last one of which she managed to catch his wrist. Just as Kylo had taught her she pulled him towards her and aimed a knee into his gut, hastily followed by an elbow to the back of his head. He wasn't quite out yet though, so holding him down, Rey sent a fist into his temple, causing the nameless slave to black out.

Hysteric cheers belted out around her from the rich spectators in their thrones. Rey slowly backed away, her breathing labored and strenuous. The door to the caged arena opened and a servant, also whom she's never seen, walked up to her; offering a blaster. It was well known by anyone who's heard her name that her favorite form of execution is death by blaster. But now, being face to face with a blaster once again, a newer white model, served only to give her terror.

Fraught with anxiety Rey went through a long train of thoughts that seemed to last a lifetime in her head, but only lasted four seconds in reality. She considered letting the man go back to his master; but the lashes on his back prevented her from doing so. Rey considered asking Snoke if she can take him in, like Kylo did with her, but then found the fault in that solution; she was too new to request such a thing from Snoke, it'd probably only result in her own punishment. Then Rey thought about killing him, like she had with all the rest.

Was it truly noble like she had once thought? What if this man had loved ones who were also enslaved who were praying that he came back alive? She'd be robbing them of this man whom they love. What if this man didn't want to die? It'd be murder to rob him of his life if he still wanted to keep it. Could Rey really be able to pull the trigger on a man she knew nothing about, who could family or friends waiting for him?

Rey panicked inside as she lifted up the blaster into her grasp, feeling like lead in her palm. The cried around her were morphed in her head, turning from cheers of encouragement to screams of terror. Each step she took towards the man brought her further into the ground, signifying her own demise along with his.

She pointed the gun.

Nothing had stopped her before. She used to fire without a blink until now. Yet, at this moment, Rey felt as if she was holding the gun to her own head, not someone else's. If Kylo was here he'd be able to do it without sweating or looking back at his deed. Rey used to be like that, yet she had called _him_ a monster. Never before had Rey ever felt more like a beast. How could she possibly take a life away?

She pulled the trigger.

Like that.

Everything moved in slow motion as she dropped the gun, was guided out of the ring and led back to her waiting room. Her vision became tunneled, and her hearing was muffled. She felt disoriented, lost, confused, and dead. Had she shot herself? Rey couldn't tell if she was even alive or not. She wanted to scream, but didn't. She wanted to vomit, but didn't. She wanted to die, but didn't.

Rey vaguely noticed the door close behind her as she walked into the waiting room, and barely recognized the change of scenery from the arena. Her legs, cold and numb, gave up on her and she collapsed to her knees. She felt tears form, but didn't register that she was sobbing. How long had she been crying for?

Her body shook when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't need to look up to know who it was besides her. Rey didn't care that she was leaning into him and was more than pleased when she felt him perform the same move he had after their fight weeks ago, back when she still loathed him. Kylo's hand moved purposefully to the nerves on her neck, causing her body to numb until she couldn't feel anything. Rey lost consciousness like she prayed she would and was, for the first time in a long time, met with calm dreams. Of what, she couldn't remember.

.

.

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Well friends I just couldn't stay away. Took three days but I was able to write another chapter in my free time. Am I becoming overly dark? I'll put a trigger warning if it's necessary. Don't have much to say... so yeah.

I'm thinking about posting this story on either or both AO3 and Wattpad, i'd that something you'd like me to do?

Favorite, Follow, Review~


	10. Shattered

Kylo stood watch over Rey as she slept, tucked underneath a light cover, on the waiting room's couch. He had just come back from his matched and was unsurprised to find her still out. The standings had been made; both of them would proceed into the next match tomorrow. The other two fighters, each from different slave owners, would face off against them. After the results were announced there had been discussion about how to set up the fights for the next day. While it was not uncommon for owners to pin their own fighters up against each other, Snoke had never had two fighters at once before, so for him it was new. In the end his master decided that Rey and he would be the first fight to see who would go against the winner of the other two.

Kylo sat down at the chair next to the couch and peered down at the girl's small frame. For as strong as she was, she looked weak and defeated lying there. Just by watching the match on the hologram screen from inside the room Kylo could see that Rey was having an inner war with herself the entire time. Once she killed the man she had triumphed over, a pure look and aura of despair cloaked her. Rey was breaking; and he couldn't stop it. Kylo's humanity and will had shattered long ago; there was nothing for him to do to stop the same from happening to Rey. The only thing possible for him was to ease the pain that comes with losing oneself.

That's why Kylo wouldn't let her win tomorrow, or ever again. Every time they are to fight to face off another, he won't allow her a chance. By taking on more of the blood, she'll be able to wipe some off.

He could only hope his master will not mind that.

A knock on the door brought his attention from his somber thought and back to the waking world. He replied for the knocker to come in, and in they came. A servant-slave announced that dinner for the fighters would be served in one hour. Kylo thanked him, and set the boy on his way.

Ah, yes, the dinner of champions, a meal given to commemorate the winners of the first day. Some sick ploy master Snoke had created years ago to make it seem like he cared for the fighters. It was really used as a way for Kylo to scope out his competition the day before, look for weaknesses and follies. Normally the other champion would be too busy scoffing, scarfing, or squirming in their seat to understand the point of the dinner. Nonetheless, it had served its purpose up till now, and it will continue to do so beyond now.

The only matter now was to wake Rey. Yet he had no clue how to do so. Moving with uncertainty, Kylo awkwardly kneeled beside her sleeping form, and tapped her forehead. Nothing. Tapped again. A twitch. Kylo kept doing this until he was able to get her to open her eyes. However, his small moment of success quickly back-tracked a Rey fearfully aimed a punch directly at his jaw. Kylo stopped the attack, narrowly stopping the second that followed after.

"You're awake." He stated.

"No kriff." She replied hotly and ripped her fists out of his hold. It didn't show on his face, but Kylo laughed at that. Rey sat up on the couch, so Kylo stood and took a step back to give her space.

"Dinner in the hall will be in thirty, I advise that you change clothes before then." He announced to her.

"In the dining hall? Why, is something going on?" She questioned with curiosity and slight hesitance in her hazel eyes.

"Yes, a meal is held after every match to celebrate the champions and victor among all the masters."

"Sounds like a scam." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. Kylo found it quite adorable.

"It most certainly is." He ever so lightly chuckled before becoming serious again, "be sure to use this time to watch the others. If by any chance you proceed into the final round, any information picked up will serve as an advantage."

Kylo then proceeded to inform Rey about the scheduled fight between them tomorrow, and after she simply nodded and said nothing, he left without a goodbye. He could only guess that she had either guessed their match, or have seen two fighters from the same master pinned up against each other, because she showed no sign of surprise at the arrangement. Perhaps Rey was even delighted at the chance to fight him again and try to take him out. Kylo would like to think he has moved beyond being enemies, but that was a futile delusion and he knew it. Kylo was very well aware that Rey may never be comfortable around him, and while that may leave a distasteful twinge in his chest, he was okay with it.

Well, whether or not she was expecting their fight, he has to end it soon. He hasn't been training Rey long, and while she is an exceptionally skilled fighter, she doesn't know how to use or block his nerve attacks. All he needs is an opening, and then it'll be over.

Heading over to the bathroom, Kylo quickly rinsed off the blood and sweat from his skin in the shower, then went to his room to change. Wearing an all black three piece suit, Kylo then pulled his long hair back into a bun to get it out of the way. Since he was done getting ready, Kylo checked the clock for the time; twenty-five minutes before dinner. Taking a seat by the cold fireplace, Kylo opened a book and began to read when he last left off. Snoke often provided him with little things to entertain him when he was in his downtime. Originally it was to keep him from wanting to run away, but now it was like a reward for loyalty, a trade even, a comfortable life in exchange for beating others to death and nearly getting killed himself. It is how it is, Kylo had long sense accepted that.

As he read over the pages of the biology book, he wasn't allowed to read anything that might give him 'ideas' of freedom, his thoughts began to shift to Rey. Mashra was still teacher her both mathematics and literature, was she getting the hang of it yet? According to his last update a week ago, her mathematics were coming along just fine, she had mastered addition and subtraction in the hundreds, and was moving onto multiplication and division by tens. However, there was only so much a slave with limited education could teach, if Rey wanted to learn more she'd have to come to him; but he already knew she would never even consider it. As long as she wasn't dimwitted he supposed it was fine.

Realizing what he was thinking about, Kylo let out a rough sigh and closed his book harshly, setting it down and headed for the window. Gazing out he noticed the leaves of the forest around them were turning colors of gold, red, and orange; signaling the coming of autumn. Looking out at its beauty, he pondered if Rey had ever seen autumn leaves.

Kylo tripped over his thoughts and caught himself once again. With a light growl, he decided to head to dinner early.

Kylo was unsure whether bringing the girl into his life was a good idea. Throughout the hours of the day his mind was consumed by her, and he knew not why. Be it serious pondering, or a simple reminder of her, Rey was constantly there at the back of his mind. He was beginning to change, he was beginning to care again, but not in the way he used to. No, these emotions were warped and disturbed. He wanted to protect her from their cruel reality, yet he also craved to break that thin sheet of ignorance she wears as a veil over her life. He wanted to keep her safe from himself, but also turn her into himself. Break her to the point that he has been broken, but piece her back together like he never has been. Whatever this feeling was, it was an obsession, cold and dark with a fierce desire for her.

Kylo knew he had to withdraw, for if he doesn't, he may not be able to stop himself from taking action. From what action he himself was still blind, but he knew it wasn't safe. Nevertheless, he was now at the point where he could not bear the thought of staying away, despite the fact that he was hated. Kylo had no choice but to suffer and fight for control.

…

Rey was delighted to change out of her rather unnecessary gladiator outfit and change into something more practical. However any hopes she had previously of wearing her favored top and shorts was then by crushed when Mashra appeared with an off-white dress in hand. Apparently she was required to where this as well. After taking a short rinse in the bath, Rey was shoved into her very fist dress, and she had to say that she hated it. The dress went over only one shoulder in a clip; it was slim-fitting and much too tight around her waist, the bottom of the dress split on both sides, showing off both of her legs up to the hips. One wrong move and Rey knew she'd be showing off more than she ever wished to. Her cream colored, knee-length boots thankfully covered more skin, but the soles had little traction and made them a bit slippery. Her hair was put into three buns, maybe the only thing she actually liked about the whole ordeal.

Once ready, Rey was then escorted by her guard to the dining hall, which she had never been to before. It seemed to be on the second floor underneath the living spaces where she was kept. The room was decorated with vibrant gold and red carpets and curtains, the tables were large and grand, piled with an amazing assortment of foods. It was harder to tell who was a fighter and who wasn't here than it was in Jakku. Everyone was dressed up and stuffing themselves and wore fake faces when addressing once another.

After a few seconds of scanning, Rey spotted Kylo sitting at the back table along with one other. Both looked down with no words, so Rey took that as a sign they were both fighters. Walking over to join the other dolled up slaves, Rey was stopped when she felt a cold and stiff hand grasp her shoulder. A shill ran down her spin and spread an eerie feeling down her body. Swinging around to confront the stranger Rey was met with none other than her new master, Snoke. He towered over her by more than a foot, his thin and wrinkled, seemingly fragile, body was able to exert a sense of power strong enough to make her quiver. His steel gaze pierced her with speculative and calculating eyes. Come to think of it now, Rey doesn't believe the two have ever exchanged a single word before now.

"My dear child, may I congratulate you on your win this afternoon, it was a delightful sight to see." He praised her with a gentle voice that somehow creep her out far more than anything else about him.

"Thank you master, I am pleased to have entertained you." Rey said with a low bow, bile threatening its way up her throat at her own words. Snoke monitored her actions closely, analyzing her every move and intent, Rey felt like she couldn't hide anything from him and her ploy was as see through as glass; yet he smiled at her words.

"Excellent, I hope you put on quite a show tomorrow against Ren, although I doubt you'll win I surely will be a sight to see." He chuckled darkly to himself in a way that made Rey's stomach churn.

"Indeed sir." Rey nodded lightly in fake agreement. Snoke, apparently done with their small talk, began to walk past her, but froze directly beside her to whisper into her ear.

"If for some reason you do happen to win, make sure not to kill him will you?" He muttered, "But make sure it hurts."

"…Yes sir."

Appearing satisfied with her answer, Snoke walked off to the head, center table to join the other masters. Rey took that as her leave and hastily made her way for the fighter's table. Nothing, not the fabulous meal, not the peculiar way Kylo was dressed or his steady gaze, not the noisy chatter of the room, could take Rey's thoughts off of her master's words. Her brain could think of nothing, do nothing, but replaying his words in her mind's ear.

She had lost her appetite.

The meal went on around her without Rey noticing it pass, completely forgetting to utilize this time to her advantage; instead she was just brain-dead and hallowed. She had maybe five bites of her food before she could stomach no more, but she did not leave, if she were too she would look like a weak fool not only in front of the other fighters, masters, and her own master, but in front of Kylo as well. Rey didn't understand why her thoughts came to him, and she wasn't in the mood to mull it over. Rey simply wanted this night to end as soon as it can. So when she was prodded at on her shoulder and snapped out of her clouded thoughts, Rey was stunned to find the dining hall was clearing out.

"Supper is over," Kylo said with an outreached hand, "come along it's time to sleep."

Rey was about to take his hand and allow her to help her out of her seat, but pulled back and stood up herself with a huff of air.

"Very well, then." She replied and strutted for the entrance. Over by a nearby table Rey spotted Mashra and a few other slaves. Rey waved to her, but Mashra ignored her, she guessed that the older women probably didn't notice her.

"I don't suggest becoming friendly with the other slaves." Kylo asserted under his breath as he walked at her side.

"Excuse me?" Rey hissed with a glare, turning away from the table to look at him.

"I've found that those in bitter circumstances will seek comfort by finding blame or hate in those who have it better."

"But we're _all_ slaves." Rey argued pointedly.

"That may be, but we are not like them, and they are not treated the same way." Kylo informed her as they turned up the stairs towards their rooms.

"I don't think that's how it should be. Back under Plutt all the slaves were treated equally."

Kylo didn't give a response, walking along in silence. Rey guessed that he had decided to drop the subject. They made it to the entrance of the hall in silence before he decided to speak again on the matter.

"So you'd rather be unfed and forced to sleep in cages?" He challenged in a strangely small voice.

"Either we all are in cages, or we all are in suits." Rey replied firmly with a dedicated conviction. Kylo came to a stop, as they had reached his room first, and gazed at her. Rey stopped as well, albeit she didn't know why, her room was just around the corner. Kylo's eyes softened ever so slightly before turning harsh again, not in anger, but in… worry.

"So innocent." Kylo shook his head and grabbed the handle of his door. "If you keep this line of thought in tack then you'll only shatter that much harder." He warned.

"And if I don't I'll become cold like you." She refuted.

Kylo looked over at her, the intensity of his nameless expression causing her to flinch. They studied each other for a good long moment, each daring the other to turn away first. In the end, Kylo was the one to break their war. With a slight chuckle he excused himself into his room, bidding her goodnight as the door closed behind him. Kylo's two guards then stationed themselves at his door, and Rey's guard beckoned her to return to her own room as well.

Once the door shut behind her Rey allowed her knees to fail and slid to the ground, resting her back against the door. Rey let out a heavy breath of air that she didn't know she was holding. The air of the expansive room seemed to be more chilled than usual, and she began to shiver, but she suspected that there was another cause for it.

Hopping to her feet, Rey slipped out of her dress and boots, leaving them on the ground as she searched her wardrobe for a nightgown. Rey then went to her project, and feverishly began cutting away with new found determination and energy. Rey could not stay here, out of all her years of hardening herself to her own suffering, Rey would not allow someone such as Kylo Ren to undo her and break her down. He was aggravating, prideful, and cold; everything she had sworn to hate. Yet, she didn't hate him, no not anymore. This emotion… it was stronger, it was strange, and it was terrifying. Rey didn't want to acknowledge its existence, no; the only thing she could ever _possibly_ feel towards that man was pure anger and disgust. She had to stop herself from whatever was happening.

Rey's not a monster like him. _But you are._ She's not a murder. _But you are._ She's no different from the other slaves. _But you are._ Rey understands what he's closed himself off to, she's not ignorant. _You are._

Suddenly a stinging pain ran through Rey's hand and forcibly ripped her away from her desperate plea to sanity. Rey had accidentally cut her palm with the knife whilst not paying attention. She looked around for bandages but found none. The blood began to seep out faster and spilled over the palms of her hands. This was not the first time she had seen them like this, and if she stayed here, it would not be the last.

Rey was leaving tonight.

Gathering up all the cloth she had torn, Rey cut off the last piece and got to work forging the rope, ignoring the burning that spread up her arm. Working swiftly, Rey thought of nothing but leaving this place behind, going back to Jakku, and finding her parents. Perhaps after their reunion Rey could convince them to help her bring the authorities back to this place and free Mashra and the others. Maybe she could even make that her life's purpose once she got out.

A knock at the door made it known that there was someone else at the door waiting to come in. Quickly stashing the completed rope, Rey went over to answer the caller, hiding her harmed appendage behind her back. On the other side of the thick wood stood Mashra, a cup of tea on a platter in her hands.

"Evening My Lady." She greeted. Rey stepped aside and let her in, speedily closing the door before Slip could notice anything. By the time she closed the door and swung around to confront Mashra, the other was already at the small table pouring a cup into the porcelain glass.

"Would you like one lump or two, My Lady?" Mashra inquired.

"None, Mashra I need your help." Rey stated and walked over to the small table where she stood. "Can you keep a secret?" Rey asked, to which Mashra nodded. Skidding over to the curtain and back Rey brought over the rope and showed it to Mashra. "There's a small door on the ceiling, if one of us can push it open and tie this rope to something, then we'll both be able to escape from here!" Rey said in a low and excited voice. Mashra looked between Rey and the rope, a shared gleam in her eyes.

"Okay then, let's do this." She agreed. "But can I go first; I fear I am not strong enough to hold you."

"Of course!" Rey chimed in with a grin, "just make sure you tie the rope onto something firmly."

Thus Rey and Mashra began the break out, stepping on top of the bookshelf under the door. Picking up Mashra by the waist, Rey held her up until she stood on her shoulders. Mashra reached up as high as she could and propped open the hidden door, jumping up and pulling herself through, dangling and flailing as she went through, the much needed rope wrapped around her shoulder. Rey hadn't initially planned for someone to come along with her in the escape, but she supposed it made it much less lonely to have a friend. Rey was glad she was able to find trust in another inside this horrid place. At last Mashra had climbed to the top of the roof, and peered back in down on Rey.

"Okay, throw the rope down so can get up!" Rey whisper-yelled up at her through the small opening. Just then, all the sweetness and care disappeared from Mashra's face, replaced with what Rey could only identify as cold blooded hatred.

"Fuck off, Rey." She spat, closing the door on Rey.

Rey loosely heard the sound of footsteps walking away as she felt herself destruct in a way she didn't think possible. A storm of utter pain, torment, and anguish engulfed her and consumed her very being. It was as if she was a precious jewel, discovered to be a fake and discarded without a second thought, shattering when she hit the ground, or in this place, reality.

Rey didn't scream, she didn't cry, she just stood there paralyzed on the bookshelf. As her world began to turn, so did her body, as her soul fell so did she. Crashing to the ground felt like nothing compared to what her heart just went through. The sound of her body contacting the floor fell on deaf ears as her head was filled with endless screams. Rey laid there on the ground in shock and fear, the agony shredding her apart into nothingness.

Kylo was right, and that thought made her scream. But with the thickness of the stone walls that trapped her, Rey doubted anyone heard her wails.

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Welp sorry that took so long, school ended just last week and I kept losing my motivation. Hope you guys enjoyed and be warned that this story is only going to get darker. Love y'all bye!

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	11. Monsters

Rey didn't sleep that night, not a single wink. She laid there on the floor, in the spot where she fell, and stared up at the trap door that had once been her only hope. Now it was gone, the door was closed and she could no longer reach it. And the one person she thought she could trust had betrayed her and abandoned her to her slavery. The tears had dried out long ago, and her voice had become too hoarse to scream, but the emptiness was still there. Rey had never felt so broken.

From all the sleepless nights in the Jakku undergrounds, to the times she was beaten and humiliated by Plutt, even when she thought about her parents and wondered if they were really coming for her; none of that compared to this pain. Kylo had warned her not to associate with others, told her that she was too ignorant, and said that they were untrustworthy. But she did, was so desperate enough to blindly believe that she and Mashra were one in the same, that their difference of treatment meant nothing, that they were friends.

And now… was she supposed to do now—to feel now? Is she supposed to just accept that Kylo had been right, renounce her core beliefs and allow herself to be a mindless pampered fighter? That seemed like the most logical step, but that would mean that she would not only have to forfeit her beliefs, but her whole self as well, and that would mean…

There would be no difference between her and him. They'd both been enslaved against their will. Both of them were placed in a brutal world where they had to fight not only for their life, but their entertainment of their shared master. Both were broken, and had lost their hope.

A huff left her throat, then a chuckle, then a laugh, and soon enough she was full on chortling hysterically; she couldn't contain herself. She just laughed and laughed, but not from joy, not from humor, but from pain at the irony of it all.

Light poured in through the window without her noticing, a new servant had been sent in to cover for Mashra's 'mysterious' absence without her turning her head, she was changed into her gladiator suit without her batting an eye, she was led away to the waiting room without her making a sound, and she was called out into the arena without her flinching once. She just felt numb.

Everything was surreal around her as she stumbled into the ring, Kylo opposite of her and a crowd cheering all around. Everything was muffled to Rey, and her vision was blurry; but Rey didn't care, she didn't want to see him.

The cheers were loud and joyous, the beasts around her were all exhilarated, banging against their seats with their hands, and shouting bets on who would win, throwing their surplus of money around. Suddenly a surge of fury seeped into her veins and filled her blood with hate and disgust for these wicked people. All the confusion and her self-hatred, her misery, every last bit of it turned to a pissed off hatred for those who had put her where she was, and kept her there. Just as Rey had so many times, she wanted them to burn, and this time she didn't stop herself from feeling this way; accepting the animal they had made her.

Her vision cleared and she could see with clarity the man before her—tall, pale, and broad—and her gaze fixated on him, but they held no hatred, rather an understanding.

They circled each other, a mutual respect held in the air, their names being called out. Rey could tell that each of them had accepted their fight, neither one backing down or giving ground. This fight would be no different than it would be with other fighters; here they were opponents, nothing else.

Kylo lunged first, making a move for her neck. Rey recognized the move from the end of their very first fight, when he paralyzed her and knocked her out. Her teacher had yet to teach her out to perform his nerve attacks, but she had eyes keen enough to know when and how to avoid them. This wouldn't be easily won, in fact Rey knew she would most likely lose, but she be damned if she didn't put up a fight.

Rey jumped to the side to avoid his out reached hand, and then aimed a kick for his gut. Kylo caught her ankle, picked her up in the air, and slammed her down hard. She knew he was trying to win by knock out, but she wouldn't allow him the satisfaction. He brought her up to do it again, but she aimed her free leg and his temple, and slammed him hard to the ground. His grip became loose and she managed to slip away. Hastily before he could bring himself back on his feet, Rey hit his side with her entire body and got him to lie on his chest. Holding his arms behind his back with her own arms, she wrapped her legs around his throat and got him in a chock hold. A countdown began towards her victory. He struggled for a while, unsuccessfully trying to get her off or to loosen her grip. Soon enough though he managed to get up shakily to his feet, and then jump flat on his back, crushing her under his weight.

The wind was knocked from her lungs and she was momentarily dazed, but it was all the time he needs to trap her in his arms, holding her arms behind her, her legs stuck uselessly under him, and his large hand over both her mouth and nose, refusing her to breathe in any precious air. Now the countdown started for Kylo's victory. Rey wiggled viscously in his lap, attempting fruitlessly to escape her captor's arms. Alas, the countdown reached zero, some disappointed awe's rung through the air mixed with excited cheers for those who had won their bet. Their joy sounded like nails against metal to her

Kylo let her go, and stood up to his feet, Rey staying on the ground—as it was tradition for the loser to stay down and await their punishment. Somehow Rey knew he wouldn't kill her; he didn't before, why would he now? Yet she knew a punishment was still coming. Based on the words Snoke had spoke to her last night she figured that he would only be pleased if blood was drawn. Rey was proved right when she saw him be handed a sword.

Kylo held the blade a few inches away from her chest, and she wondered where he would strike. Would he cut off her ear? Scar her face like she scarred him? Before her thoughts let her think up any more wild scenarios, he moved. Bringing his arm back he took a swing at her. Rey tried not to flinch and closed her eyes, silently wishing he'd take off her head like he has with so many others. Instead she felt a searing pain pierce the top of her bicep where her arm meets her shoulder. His sword cut deep and left a sharp cut in her arm. Blood spilled out fast from the fresh wound, soaking her skin and clothes.

Rey cried out and clutched her wound with a dirty hand, probably getting dirt in it and making it worse. Louder cheers erupted from her punishment; Rey looked at this with a twisted snarl, desiring in that moment that she be let out of this arena with a chance to cut down every single one of them.

Feeling a large hand on her unhurt arm, Rey was led out by Kylo, dragged harshly from the arena to make way for the next round. He pulled her to their waiting room, locking the door behind them. Rey was about to say something when he suddenly pulled out a knife, holding it out for her.

"You're turn." He said plainly, taking off his shirt, offering her his arm.

"Huh..?"

"I cut you, you cut me. It's only logical."

"I- I don't- I," Rey was at a loss for words or actions. Her body, which had very shortly ago been filled to the brim with anger, was now shaking in confusion and fear. Rey was met at a thin tightrope, being forced across over fire by the look in his eyes. For the first time since she met him Rey didn't want to harm Kylo. Is that how he felt in the ring? Is that why he was doing this?

A dreadful feeling filled her gut—an awful wretched emotion that Rey had never once felt in her life except a few times; and the last time she felt it was with Mashra. Compassion. Compassion for a life other than her own. Yet, this feeling was different, much stronger, and much more threatening. Her heart was just destroyed from a feeling that was _weaker_ than this, and now she was faced with it again so soon after out of nowhere. Or was it really out of nowhere? As Much as Rey wanted to deny it, and reject her own heart that was still very much shattered, this has been building up over the past couple weeks… But what should she do with it?

Rey looked up at Kylo, peering into his begging, soft eyes. Rey gulped and took a haggard breath. Reaching out her hand she grasped the knife in her palm. Their eye contact didn't break for a moment as she placed the knife against his triceps, their attention focused solely on each other.

Rey did it fast, it one swift cut, just as he did with her. Kylo barley flinched, just a twitch of his right eye. Once the deed was done, Rey dropped the knife and let if fall to the ground by their feet. His blood dripped and fell onto her, while her blood stained him. The air around was electric and set their skin tingling with passion.

Kylo began to lean in slowly, inch by agonizing inch. Rey stayed where she was, at a loss for what to do or what she wanted. She had never been so ready or so unprepared for anything her whole life. However as all moments do, it ended when the door opened a slave announced that Kylo's match was up next in five minutes. Neither of them said anything to him or to each other.

They didn't leave their places in each other arms, but they didn't continue ether. They simply stayed still, looking at the door. After some time had passed in a strained silence, Kylo pulled away without a word spoken, put on his shirt, and left to fight in the ring once more.

Rey stood and watched the door for a while more, but once she heard the hologram in the room spring to life, displaying the fight to her, she moved to stand before it. She turned it off. If Kylo wins and comes back to her, she'll know when he walks through the door. But if he doesn't... She doesn't want to see it happen. Whatever had just occurred between them… whatever they were… Rey didn't want to lose it. Maybe this was delusion; maybe her broken heart was simply using him as a latch from a pit fall of despair. No matter what this was, or how it came to be, Rey feared that if this too was taken away, she'd be nothing more than a ghost in a hollow shell.

…

The fight was a long one and definitely one of the most difficult he's ever gone through. This man was not only strong, skilled, and had stamina; but also experienced. When a veteran faced another veteran in the ring with an equal chance of winning, the crowd always went wild; and Snoke was always pleased. When the time came for him to take his head, Kylo could see the sinister smirk from his master in the crowd.

After being released from the arena, Kylo was advised to seek immediate medical attention in the medical bay—as he had server bleeding in several places, several broken and sprained bones, and the cut on his arm that they assumed he had gotten in the fight. However Kylo could not stand to be away from Rey for a moment longer, not with how they ended things.

He didn't know what happened between the last time he saw her to their moment in the waiting room, but suddenly she no longer seemed to use him as her outlet of hatred, no longer seemed to be holding on to ignorance for the sake of hope; and no longer had that light in her eyes. Kylo knew what this all meant: Rey had broke down and snapped. But he didn't know the cause for it.

Walking back to the room, Kylo wasted no time letting himself in. Rey lay on the couch staring at nothing, no expression, no movement. Once he closed the door and took a step closer in, she turned her head to look at him.

"You made it back." She voiced relief in her tone.

"Did you doubt I would?"

"You can never be too sure. Death is too frequent in this life." Her eyes were remorseful and drained.

Kylo moved closer to her, taking cautious steps, and eventually kneeled at her side. Rey moved from lying down to sitting up, leaning forward and resting her elbow on her thighs. Kylo put a tentative hand on her back as he sat on the couch too, Rey leaning into him.

"Rey, what happened?" He asked softly. The room was still and quiet for several heartbeats as the girl in his arms bitterly tried to fight back tears, her breathing irregular and heavy as she tried to regain composure.

"You were right. Mashra she… She didn't give a damn about me. She escaped and left last night, leaving me behind." Rey murmured, sniffling while drops of tears fell down.

"You were going to escape?" Kylo asked in surprised. Rey backed away out of his hold and held herself in a tight ball, holding her head in her hands, shaking violently.

"I wanted to leave. I still do. I'm being driven crazy by this fucked up life, I can't take it. I had to get out before I broke." She cried, shaking her head, sobbing, "But I'm already broken, I have been ever since I was first put in the ring as a small child. I have too much blood on my hands; I'm drowning in it! I'm haunted by what I've done, of what I am! I don't want to do it, but I can't stop. I-I'm a monster."

Rey proceeded to wail and sob beside him. Kylo brought her back into his arms, but still she cried. In the end, Kylo couldn't prevent her from following down his path. He knew exactly how she feels, the twisted self-hatred and disgust, a will to die but fear to let go. It's a torment that acts like an insatiable hunger from a parasite within your own body, always clawing at your mind and tearing you apart from the inside. Kylo had to go through it alone; his attempts were never able to give him relief from it. Even if they were to escape, it would never stop.

He wasn't sure how to comfort her, since he couldn't even comfort himself. He already knew he couldn't ease the pain, but he could give her an outlet.

This relationship they had, it was stained and dirty and impure, but it was all either of them had. If they, two drowning souls, could somehow keep one of them afloat then maybe one of them will make it. If not then they could go down together into the depths. At least there they might find some peace.

Kylo knew very well that Rey was using him to keep her from sinking to those depths, and may very well drown him in the process. But his obsession and intoxication of her craved that she be with him. It was sick, but so where they.

Or were they the pure ones and everyone else was the toxic ones? They had just as much blood on them as Kylo and Rey. After all, if a man brings down a sword on a hundred necks, who's to blame, the man or the sword?

Kylo pushed Rey back gently and lifted her chin, shushing her sobs and cupping her cheek softly in his large hands. Rey looked into his eyes, lost and afraid, and he looked into hers, with lust and passion.

"We're both monsters."

Closing the gap between them Kylo slowly placed his lips against hers, tasting salt.

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This is getting really dark... and I've written some messed up shit before in my life. Well, tell me what you think por favor. Sorry for taking so long, I'm currently visiting family.

See y'all later!

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	12. A 15 Year Old

The next day faded into the next, a week became a month, a month became a season; and Rey had long since snapped. Biweekly both she and Kylo were forced into the ring, both always winning their battles before being pinned up against each other. She would win some, he'd win the most, and their shared scars began to litter their bodies. Rey wished she didn't have to do this, but a punishment after a loss was the only way either of them could please their master; and Snoke loved to see blood. Kylo had warned Rey against speaking out against him or going easy on each other. From his vastly longer experience with the sadistic old man he knew that if his desires were not met he'd meet them himself with a worse fate.

Rey has yet to see for herself what type of torture the master likes to perform on his disobedient subordinates, and Kylo refused to share any details. All she knew what that it was painful enough to take anyone out of commission for at least a few days. That's why Rey had become so cautious of the man, always treading carefully around him. Sure it wasn't as if Rey had never been beaten before, Unklar Plutt would give her a fistful every week, but Snoke's methods seemed to be on a whole other level.

So she sat their quietly in her room, reading the books she was soon provided with once her literacy level increased, waiting each day for a meal to be brought to her; never once talking to her new servant. When her prison guard came in to take her to her daily training sessions, she would get up and follow without a word. No snarky comments would come out from her when Kylo or Phasma corrected her, she would just nod and follow their instructions. After that she'd sit in the bath and stare at her reflection in the water before heading back to her room. If she had ever crossed paths with Snoke she would bow and respond in kind if he ever made conversation.

More than once Rey thought of drowning herself in that bath water, and more than a few times did she attempt before she would push herself back up with some sick will to live, or rather, a fear of death.

Kylo would visit her every day at what she thought was four in the afternoon and work with her as her new teacher. When dinner was called he would leave to eat it in his room, and Rey would eat it in hers. Once the meal was finished and cleared she would chose between either reading a book; writing poetry, which she discovered she enjoyed quite well; or simply staring out the window.

Day in and day out this what her life was now composed of. Besides the fighting and near scrapes with death, Rey was living a comfortable life. For the first time she had enough food, clean clothes, medical treatment, education, and a soft bed. These should be all the components of a content life; Rey should be happy, grateful even. But she wasn't. She hated this even more than she hated her treatment back in Jakku; because it was all just a lie. The nice dresses she was given couldn't hide the scars; the hot baths couldn't wipe away the blood; and nothing good around her could make up for all the evils she's committed.

And what of Kylo? The one person Rey thought she could find grievances in no longer confided in her. He would only speak when it was necessary for him to do so. Months had passed and he has never once brought up the kiss that he stole, not so much as an explanation.

Rey was left alone to quietly suffer within her own mind; she spoke of nothing, acted on nothing. She just let her anger, fear, and hate hide under her thick skin. Ever since Rey had broken down she no longer cried or screamed, she didn't curse the life she was given, she simply accepted it. Rey had earned this life and it was her fault she was living this way.

Rey hadn't been good enough for her parents to keep. Rey hadn't been good enough a slave for Plutt not to hit her. Rey hadn't been a good enough fighter to win against Kylo Ren. And Rey hadn't been a good enough friend for Mashra not to leave her. Everything that has ever been wrong in her life has been due to he own inadequacies. Therefore she was reaping what she had sewn.

Time crawled on without her, from the view Rey had from her room she watched as the leaves turned color from vibrant greens to gold, orange, and red. Kylo had told her this was called autumn, a time when life around the world grew old and began to wither. In brought some kind of emotion to Rey to know that she was not the only thing dying. Next came a season called winter, as she had been told, the withered leaves fell from the trees in a silent death and a strange white blanket covered the landscape overnight. There was no more color as everything either died or went to sleep.

Rey watched dots of white fall gracefully from the sky, turning away from her studies as Kylo read a passage from their book. She didn't know what it was; she'd never seen it before.

"Rey?" Kylo called her back from her wandering thoughts.

"Huh?" She replied, turning around in her chair, "Sorry, where were we?"

Kylo eyed her for a second before turning to where she had been looking just a moment before. He seemed to understand her confusion and decided to answer her unspoken question.

"That's snow, a sign that winter has arrived." He told her, bookmarking the page and closing his book.

"What is it like?" Rey asked, a childlike curiosity appearing on her face for the first time in a long while.

"It's very cold and wet; it can be either soft or heavy." Kylo said, sanding them up and bringing her over to the window.

"Have you ever been in it?" Rey asked without thinking, cringing at herself when she realized how personal that question was.

"Before I was captured, yes." He responded as if what he had just said wasn't ground breaking to her.

Kylo had never told Rey the story of how he came into slavery; he acted as if it had been his entire life. Rey herself had been sold into it at a young age, others like Mashra had been born into it, but Kylo had been captured? That must mean that he had a different life before this, a family, friends, he had known what it was like to live a free man. Rey wanted to know what it was like; she wanted him to opened up to her, to talk to her again. This was shaky ground for her to walk on, but if a bridge was not built or mended Kylo would always be distant to her.

"What was your life like before slavery?" Rey questioned lightly, yet directly, making her question clear so he could not dodge it.

Kylo didn't answer her right away or at all at first. Minutes passed by as he stayed quiet and she waited patiently. She sat on the cushioned bench beneath the windowsill and looked out at the landscape as he did. The fire crackling in the fireplace, providing them with heat, was the only sound in the desolate room along with the howling wind that was pounding against the window.

It took until the sun changed position in the sky for Kylo to finally sit down with her, keeping two feet of space between them. Rey looked to him when he did so, expecting an answer, and watched as he lightly fidgeted in his spot. She could tell he was having an inner battle with himself at the moment, and could only wait it out with him.

"My life is none of your business." He finally answered, looking away from her and back out the window.

Rey didn't respond right away, searching his face to see if he was being serious. When she saw no sign of him giving in, she chuckled lowly and mockingly nodded her head.

"Yeah, it's none of my business." She spat bitterly, standing up to walk away to her bed.

"Wait, Rey I-"

"You what, huh?" Rey shot back, whipping around to face him, "You don't trust me enough? Care for me enough? Am I not enough for you?"

Kylo quickly shut his mouth, unable to say anything to her as she yelled accusingly at him. He looked away in shame, and that action only made Rey all the more furious.

"You walk around with your head so far up in your ass of self pity to see what is literally five feet in front of you."

"I do not pity myself!" Kylo shouted back, getting up from his seat in defense.

"Oh, really?" Rey scoffed, "Is that why you don't talk to me anymore?" Rey walked closer with each word until she was standing chest to chest with him, staring with fiery cold eyes. "Hello, I'm right here, you're not the only one who's gone through shit."

"You could never understand what it's like to have gone through what I've gone through. I was stolen from my family after a huge fight with my parents. I have to live with the guilt of seeing their faces everyday!"

"At least you had parents to fight with! Mine sold me away as a child without a second thought. You've known love; I've lived through nothing but torture!"

"I've lived through it too Rey! For the past fifteen years, that's just as long as you."

" _This?!_ " Rey stepped back, gesturing to the room, "Is torture? I was forced to live underground in a cell, only being fed scrapes, and beaten just because my master felt like it."

"A couple punches are nothing compared to the sadistic tastes of Snoke!" Kylo howled.

"Then why won't tell me about it?!" Rey yelled, chocking on a sob.

The fury in Kylo's eyes immediately drained away as he watched her begin to cry, instead he looked at her as she too lost most of her anger and fell to her knees.

"You're the only one here who I could possibly talk to and would understand my pain, but you just ignore me and treat me more as a student than a partner you'd kiss." She cried, whipping her eyes with the back of her hands. "I don't get it, did I do something wrong? Why are you acting as if it never happened, why are shutting me out?"

Curling into a ball, Rey let it all out. Months worth of surprised doubts and fear and suffering spilled out as she let herself crack once again in front of him. How many times would she have to open up for his to finally let her in? Would she have to suffer even more for him to deem her worthy enough to be with?

As Rey said all these things she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her close to him. She held on and let him hold her as she wailed. A calming hand rubbed circles into her back, and a serene voice called her out of her panicked state, leading her away from her anxieties as he calmed her down. When she was finally done, Kylo pulled back slightly to face her, cupping her face. His eyes were saddened but gentle towards her.

"I never meant for you to feel this way, Rey." He told her, "And it was my own insecurities that kept me from talking to you, I'm sorry."

"Then talk to me." Rey murmured, holding his hand against her cheek.

"Okay."

…

 _He was fifteen years old and spending the summer days with his mother and father at their lake house. Ben Solo had been acting up at school and home lately so his parent believed that some time away from both work and the city would do their family some good._

 _It had been six years since Ben had last been here with his family. His parents were constantly busy and had almost no time for their son anymore, what with his mother being a senator and his dad owning a shipping company. What had started as an attempt to get his parents attention again had turned into a way to vent his frustration and anger. Of course when Leia and Han Solo heard that their son had been getting into fights at school and hospitalized one of them they had been very disappointed. They had tried sending him to a therapist, but Ben refused to talk. So the next best idea was to take him away from the city and try to work out his issues themselves._

 _Han would take him fishing, Leia would play tennis with him, but Ben knew they were only doing this out of concern, not from love. He could see the slight hint of fear whenever he raised his voice or made a sudden movement. His parents had become scared of their own son._

 _As their one month vacation started to come to an end his parents began to lose faith that they could help him. One night, when he was walking out of his room to get a small snack, Ben overheard them talking about their worry for their son's behavior. Leia had suggested that they send him to her brother's academy on the other side of the country until graduation to see if Luke could help._

 _Ben, angry and scared that they would send him away, quietly packed his backpack, waited until his parents were asleep, and ran away to the nearest town. He wanted to buy a ticket to Coruscant and stay with his friend, but he didn't have enough money for a transit to take him there._

 _Deciding to walk there, Ben headed down the highway by foot until dawn, when he camped out on the side of the road to sleep. While he rested there a van pulled up beside him. He woke up in time only to see someone bagging him before knocking him out again._

 _When he woke up he was in a cage with three other people. Men and women in fancy clothes would walk by the cell, eyeing him before walking away to what he assumed were more cages. It was then that Ben realized that he had been kidnapped and was about to be sold._

 _He had brought this upon himself. His childish tantrum had led him to run away in the first place. If he had just opened up to his parents about how he felt he would never have gotten in that situation. And now he was about to pay for a stupid decision made by an angry and scared fifteen year old._

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 _Sorry it's been a while since I had last posted, I was visiting family and focusing on other stories, but I'm back. Sorry if there were any triggers in this chapter._

 _Do you see any parallels between them? eh eh eh?_

 _Favorite, Follow, Review~_


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